Bhagavad Gita Summary - Book Nine. Raja Vidya Raja Guhyayoga (The Yoga of Sovereign Science and Sovereign Secret)

This chapter and the next deal with the monist nature of the divinity in its immanent aspect. Paving the way for the mystical transcendent vision of the divinity, accessible through a path of knowledge through devotion.

1- Brahma-Jnana is the best Religion. (1-3)

I. To thee who dost not cavil, I shall now declare this, the greatest secret, knowledge combined with experience, which having known thou shalt be liberated from evil.

2- The Universe (4-10)

All beings rest in the Lord. (4-6)

Having prepared Arjuna (to listen to the Doctrine) by extolling it, the Lord says: 

4. By Me all this world is pervaded, My form unmanifested. All beings dwell in Me; and I do not dwell in them. All this world is pervaded by My Highest Being, My form being invisible to the senses.

In Me, of unmanifested form, dwell all beings from Brahma down to the plant. No being devoid of the Self can ever become an object of experience. Wherefore they dwell in Me, i. e., they are self-existent (or have an individual existence) through Me, the Self, (i. e., they are what they are in virtue of Me, the Self, underlying them all.) 'Since I am the Self of all those beings, it would seem to the deluded as though I dwell in them. Wherefore I say : I do not dwell in those beings, because of the absence of contact with others, unlike corporeal things. I am, certainly, the innermost essence even of the akasa. That which is unconnected with any object cannot I indeed be contained anywhere as though in a receptacle. (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)

5. Nor do those beings dwell in Me ; behold My Divine Yoga! Sustaining all beings, but not dwelling in them, is My Self, the cause of beings. The Lord is the source and the end of all beings.

The ancient teaching which Krishna once more enunciates is that all forms of every kind proceed from One Universal Source; the life of each is hidden in and sustained by that Source—the One Life. The power to perceive and expand its range of perception and expression is the same in all beings and forms; the degrees of perception and expression are shown in the innumerable classes of beings it is this power that is behind all evolution— the unfolding from within outwards. (Crosbie, Essays on the Gita, 158)

The Lord is the source and the end of all beings. (7-8)

7. All beings, O son of Kunti, go into My Prakriti at the end of a kalpa. I send them forth again at the beginning of (the next) kalpa.

This living and non-living universe is created by Me only through the establishment of Prakriti therefore with this logic I am the cause of its creation. Therefore understand in the light of Knowledge the Divine principle that all living things are in Me but I am not in them or (going still further), all living things are not in Me and I am not in them. Do not forget this fundamental thing which is My most guarded secret which you should enjoy through Meditation after shutting of your sense-organs. Nobody can understand My true nature unless this is understood. Normally, it is thought that this principle is understood through logic but it is useless unless it is experienced. (Dnyaneshwari; 9:132-140, transl. M.R. Yardi)

The Lord is not bound by His acts. (9-10)

10. By Me presiding, Prakriti produces the moving and the unmoving; because of this, O son of Kunti, the world revolves.

Similarly, all the knowledge and behaviour of those who have no control on their mind becomes useless. They are caught in the grips of Prakriti thus getting entangled in worldly affairs and their mind gets afflicted by the Tama attribute affecting their reason and discrimination. Desire and violence generate dissatisfaction in them leading to unrighteous behaviour. Knowledge is destroyed by hate. Persons with materialistic thinking are specially victims of Prakriti and are affected by delusion. Affected by Tama attribute they cannot be saved by righteous thinking and are lost. (Dnyaneshwari; 9:178- 185, transl. M.R. Yardi)

3- Different kinds of worshippers (11-26)

The life of the impious.  (11-12)

12. Of vain hopes, of vain actions, of vain knowledge, devoid of discrimination, partaking only of the delusive nature of Rakshasas and Asuras.

And Arjuna, they keep their body and mind in complete control and sitting in vajrasana position and practising pranayama they go in samadhi state and experience complete Self-realisation in the light flashes of  Kundalini helped by the mind and the life-force. Thus the path of devotion is deep and mysterious and those who follow it realise that I completely pervade everything living and nonliving. From Brahmadeo to the tiny gnat and the creatures between these two extremes are all My forms. They thus identify everything with My form and respect it. To be humble and polite to every living being becomes their nature. Thus I have explained to you the nature of the great devotion. Now I shall tell you about those who worship Me through performance of Yajna or sacrifice of Knowledge (i. e. through the path of Knowledge) though I have already told you about this earlier (4th chapter). (Dnyaneshwari; 9:212-229, transl. M.R. Yardi)

The ways of the faithful devotees. (13-15) 

13. The Mahatmans, O son of Pntha, partaking of the nature of the Devas, worship Me with mind turned to no other, knowing (Me) as the imperishable source of all beings.

All worship goes to the Lord. (16-18) 

18. I am the Goal, the Sustainer, the Lord, the Witness, the Abode, the Shelter and the Friend, the Origin, Dissolution and Stay ; the Treasure-house, the Seed imperishable. 

The fruits of interested acts of Vedic ritual. (20-21) 

20. Men of the three Vedas, the soma-drinkers, purified from sin, worshipping Me by sacrifices, pray for the goal of heaven ; they reach the holy world of the Lord of the Gods and enjoy in heaven the heavenly pleasures of the Gods.

This Yajna of knowledge is as follows. The original thought that I am one but I desire to be many is the pole for tying the sacrificial animal and dualism is that animal. The five elements are the pandal (temporary enclosed shelter), the special attributes of the five elements namely the five organs and the five types of vital breaths (Pranas) are the material to be used in the yajna and ignorance is the ghee (clarified butter used in Indian households for cooking and for lamps) to be burnt in it. 

In this Yajna, the mind and the intellect are the two pits in which the fire of knowledge is ignited. The feeling of equanimity towards pleasure and pain is the altar. The dexterity of the intellect to discriminate is the Mantras in the yajna. Peace is the pair of vessels sruka and sruva used in the yajna. The seeker is the host who performs the yajna. Using the vessels of experience, the mantra of discrimination and rituals of Knowledge, he sacrifices the dualism and destroys the ignorance and then what remains is only the host and the rituals. And when the seeker gets the purifying bath by the water of Self-realisation then he does not find the elements, organs and their objects to be separate from each but considers all of them to be one. When he experiences Brahman in the entire universe the talk of his being an individual living being ends and he believes that from Brahmadeo downwards the Supreme Soul has pervaded everything. Thus some people worship Me by attaining Brahman through the yajna of Knowledge. (9:239- 248)

The Supreme watching over His devotees' interests. (22)

22. Those men who, meditating on Me as nonseparate, worship Me all around,—to them who are ever devout, I secure gain and safety.

I serve those who have completely surrendered to Me, who think there is nothing better than Me, consider that their whole life belongs to Me and thus, with extreme faith meditate on Me and worship Me. When they accepted the path of My worship, at that time itself the responsibility of taking their care in all respects fell on Me and I was compelled to do what they should have done for themselves. Just as mother bird takes complete care of her babies who have not yet developed wings and lives only for them, I also take care of My devotees who have kept complete faith in Me. If they want moksha (liberation) leading to oneness with Me, I take them towards it and if they like to serve Me then I offer them My love. I give them whatever they want and having given, I guard it also for them. I provide maintenance to all those who give themselves to Me completely. (Dnyaneshwari, 9:335-343, transl. M.R. Yardi)

Other devotees do but worship the Supreme in ignorance. (23-25) 

23. Even those who, devoted to other Gods, worship Them with faith, worship Myself, O son of Kunti, in ignorance.

4- Bhakti Yoga, The Yoga of Devotion (26-34)

 Facility in Devotion to the Supreme. (26-28) 

27. Whatever thou doest, whatever thou eatest, whatever thou sacrificest, whatever thou givest, in whatever austerity thou engagest, do it as an offering to Me. 

Whatever thou doest of thy own accord [i.e., not enjoined in the sistra) and whatever thou offerest in sacrifice as enjoined in the sruti or the smriti, whatever thou givest — such things as gold—to the brahmanas and others, ...do all that as an offering to Me. (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)

28. Thus shalt thou be liberated from the bonds of actions which are productive of good and evil results; equipped in mind with the Yoga of renunciation, and liberated, thou shalt come to Me. 

Then, just as a roasted seed does not germinate, the actions offered to Me do not bear fruit. Arjuna, it is only when Karma remains that it gives rise to fruits of happiness and sorrow and leads to rebirth in order to go through them. On the other hand, if the action is offered to Me then immediately the rebirth is avoided and one is saved from the pains accompanying it. Therefore Arjuna, avoid getting trapped into the bonds of the body and thus getting drowned in the ocean of happiness and sorrow and so by following this easy path become one with Me. (Dnyaneshwari; 9:402-406, transl. M.R. Yardi)

The impartiality of the Supreme. (29) 

29. The same I am to all beings ; to Me there is none hateful or dear ; but whoso worship Me with devotion, they are in Me, and I am also in them.

Even the Low-born attain salvation by Devotion. (30-32)

32. For, finding refuge in Me, they also who, O son of Pritha, may be of a sinful birth—women, vaisyas as well as siidras,—even they attain to the Supreme Goal.

The Yoga of Devotion. (33-34)

34. Fix thy mind on Me, be devoted to Me, sacrifice to Me, bow down to Me. Thus steadied, with Me as thy Supreme Goal, thou shalt reach Myself, the Self.

The real “worship”, is devotion to an ideal. Here “the Self of All” is the ideal, and the action indicated is to think and act for, and as, the One Self in all things, without self-interest in the results. We are not attached to results by our acts, but by our thoughts; freedom comes from a renunciation of self-interest in the fruit of actions. (Crosbie, Essays on the Gita, 163)

Astrology: Spring Equinox, March 20, 2022, part 2

War and Peace

On February 24, Russia began military offensives in Ukraine that sent most of Europe into political turmoil. This post aims at presenting some short observations on the astrological factors related to this crisis. I had noted the festering tensions in a post the week prior:

In a previous post I wrote:’’Judging from the previous ones, the third and final Saturn-Uranus square (December 24, 2021) could bring some heavy difficulties, but it is also an opportunity to come to terms with the previous conflicts. It can be considered as a final reality check before this aspect gradually fades, embarking on a new, optimistic, constructive phase that the Jupiter-Saturn cycle brings.’’

The exact Jupiter sextile Uranus may give the protesters a boost of enthusiasm and new ideas, although it might likely give a greater boost to the law-enforcement strategies, due to the inherently conservative, rigid stance of the protest under a waning Saturn-Uranus aspect that fuelled it. It's possible that this new aspect could also see a significant shift in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has been festering since the end of December. 

Therefore despite, the chaotic phase we are going through, I still consider this new aspect to be a more specific beginning of a more optimistic, progressive phase related to the new Jupiter-Saturn cycle. The upcoming Apr 12 – Jupiter conjunct Neptune aspect will bring a strong spiritual influence, although the difficult conditions of the Saturn-Uranus square with Jupiter in Pisces will return briefly at the of the year.

Note also an astrological aspect for February 23:

Mercury square Uranus. New info can surface that upsets status quo

A precision about what I mean about the Jupiter-Saturn cycle: The first ten years can be characterized as predominantly Jovian, followed by a decade predominantly Saturnian. The optimistic Jupiter phase doesn’t necessarily preclude warfare, as it can be considered an extreme manifestation of Jovian over-zealousness, often ideologically influenced. (And there is a complex political-religious subtext to this crisis). It can be compared to the ill-fated American-led occupation of Afghanistan that book-ended the previous Jupiter-Saturn cycle. Unfortunately the Jovian phase often sees examples of excessive, misguided optimism, that end up being radically re-adjusted during the stern, realistic Saturn phase.

It is also possible to connect this crisis with an event previously noted:

Solar Eclipse, December 3, 2021 - There is increasing concern over the potential for Russian aggression against Ukraine. Russia has rapidly escalated its military presence along the countries' shared border, amassing up to 175,000 troops there.

According to Astrology King:

The December 4 solar eclipse and the November 19 lunar eclipse form an eclipse phase that lasts until the solar eclipse on April 30, 2022.

Aquarius and Pisces Stellia

The two powerful stellia in the Spring Equinox chart indicate a strong humanistic, compassionate, social, global solidarity against the invasion. The chart around the new moon on March 2 captures one of the strongest moments of the stellia, with a conjunction of five planets in Aquarius and four planets in Pisces, and actually all nine planets could be considered in conjunction with each other. This moment coincided with a record United Nations vote supporting a resolution against Russian aggression in Ukraine and also a strong vote to end plastic pollution.

US Pluto Return

The US Pluto return on February 22 (more accurately, Feb. 20), coincided quite closely with the Russian invasion, so there would seem to be a connection. As noted, one could see a parallel with the Afghanistan occupation which marked the previous Jupiter-Saturn cycle.

How long will it last

The Spring chart is quite intense, with a tight Moon-Pluto square and a fairly tight Venus conjunct Mars square Uranus, so it would seem to indicate passionate, deceitful, volatile conflict in effect for the next three months. The Summer solstice seems less conflictual, but has a difficult Mars-Pluto square, and by the Fall equinox, the Saturn-Uranus square will be in effect again, with a two degree orb.

I tend to connect these events to a waning energy of rebellion dating back to Uranus-Pluto squares of 2012-15 (marked by the Russian annexation of Crimea in Ukraine) and ending with the recent Saturn-Uranus square. That square is still currently in an eight degree orb, still relatively close, so it can still have some strength and Pluto is still in Capricorn (November 26, 2008 – March 23, 2023; Sept 1, 2024 – November 19, 2024), (driving ambition for political power) which I consider to be another factor (and as it nearing the cusp of the sign, it's influence is stronger).

The Syria situation shows that Russia can remain entrenched in long, complicated, violent conflicts. Whether the current situation ends in an eventual short-term takeover by Russia, or a negotiated settlement is reached, or if it becomes a long-term occupation affair like Afghanistan, is hard to say. Although overall, the planetary aspects will be evolving toward more peaceful figures over the next year, it seems possible that intense violent fighting could continue until Pluto leaves Capricorn on March 23, 2023, at which time the Saturn-Uranus square will have also faded. Hopefully, the very positive Aquarius and Pisces energies can help bring about a peaceful resolution sooner.

for a more detailed chart analysis, see:

https://astrologywithandy.com/2022/03/11/the-astrology-of-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/#more-443

Astrology: Spring Equinox, March 20, 2022, part 1

Renewal and Resistance

Welcome to the Spring! It has been a long, difficult Winter season, with many Covid-related complications and political turmoil, but the pandemic problems have been easing up and the new season has many positive developments to offer.

This chart (which can be considered a kind of snapshot of the next quarter) is very powerful because there are two stellia formations (at least three planets in conjunction), one stellium in Aquarius, the other in Pisces, and the remaining aspects all more or less form aspects to these two groups of planets. Moreover, there are four very tight aspects, so the chart can be analyzed in four parts.

1- Moon (in Libra) square Pluto (in Capricorn)

Moon in Libra is about solving problems through diplomacy, using relationship skills. Pluto in Capricorn is about a driving ambition for political power. Moon square Pluto is about complicated emotional struggles, financial struggles, obsessions, with jealousy, suspicions, intrigues, with mind games. It can be a time of intensity in relationships and a time of deep personal transformation. Overall, this gives a conflict of diplomacy versus political power that brings out deep, complicated emotional baggage and manipulation.

2- Mars (in Aquarius) square Uranus (in Taurus)

With Mars in Aquarius, there’s a drive for reform, invention and engineering and a need to assert one’s individuality and freedom. Uranus in Taurus brings a practical sense of innovation including finances. Mars square Uranus brings a sense of frustration, restriction, a forceful expression of the need for independence and originality, and a general sense of rebellion, impatience, and risky impulsiveness. Moreover, this aspect is one the twelve more volatile aspects in astrology (comprised of oppositions and squares with any combination of Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto) with violence, accidents, surprises, natural disasters. It is somewhat easier to see the effects of these aspects as the more spectacular ones tend to give heavy media coverage.

This aspect is one part of a Mars-Venus-Saturn stellium in Aquarius, which serves to galvanize the Aquarian energies, which is focused on progressive, collective ideals. Mars and Venus bring a very emotional, passionate quality to this, but a dominant Saturn here tends to mute or even frustrate those energies, but also provides balance and focus. This stellium can also serve to re-activate the Saturn-Uranus square to a certain extent. Overall there is a desire to express one’s originality and social freedom, that often feels frustrated and repressed.

3- Sun (in Pisces) sextile Pluto (in Capricorn)

Sun in Pisces gives an  inclusive compassionate, sense of  empathy and tolerance. There is a self-sacrificing spiritual outlook, with an abstract, holistic outlook. Pluto in Capricon, gives a drive and ambition for social and political power and deep organizational transformation. With Sun sextile Pluto there is a strong drive for pursuing transformative ideals of self-respect, empowerment and honesty, with a need to renew relations with authority figures. This idealistic impetus can be overwhelming and there is can be a tendency for overbearing excessiveness.

This aspect is part of a larger Sun, Neptune, Jupiter, Mercury stellium in Pisces, which galvanizes the Pisces energy very strongly. An idealistic, mystical, spiritual outlook is prevalent with an very intuitive feeling. Compassion and empathy are strong, with a effusive, eloquent communication and interaction. Artistic creativity is very inspired. There may be tendencies for being impractical, absent-minded, vague, confused and imprecise. There could be tendencies for delusion, fanaticism and paranoia as well.

4- Mercury (in Aquarius) sextile Uranus (in Taurus)

Mercury in Aquarius brings an intuitive, eloquent, communicative sociability. Uranus in Taurus brings a practical innovative knack. Mercury sextile Uranus encourages meetings and social interactions. Topics of science and metaphysics are favoured. Fertile for intuitive, original progressive ideas. Unexpected gains could occur.

This is aspect is again part of the larger Sun, Neptune, Jupiter, Mercury stellium and so brings a strong impetus for innovation and transformation in terms of compassionate spiritual values and holistic, global perspectives. (See also  the recent Jupiter sextile Uranus post).

Summary

With Sun, Neptune, Jupiter, Mercury stellium in Pisces, the Spring rebirth period is certainly bringing an exceptional opportunity of strong spiritual renewal and growth. As positive opportunities inevitably entail a shadow side, lately Mars (currently close to Pluto and Saturn) has been re-igniting energies of rebellious power struggles (how this affects the current Russian invasion of Ukraine will be the topic of the next post), which bring obstacles  that need to be addressed (which can involve untangling deep issues in past relationships) as some of the year's most important favourable aspects are due to occur in the upcoming weeks: 

Apr 12 – Jupiter conjunct Neptune
Apr 30 – Solar Eclipse
May 03 – Jupiter sextile Pluto
May 16 – Lunar Eclipse  

References 

https://cafeastrology.com/

painting by: Mikhail Vrubel , Kiev 1887

Addendum 

This chart has an interesting (and very tight), but more obscure triangle pattern comprised of the Moon square Pluto, Moon Quincunx Sun, and  Sun sextile Pluto aspects. This can be interpreted in the following three-point resolution process:

Conflict:  diplomacy versus political power, complicated emotional struggles

Striving for resolution: accepting your needs for autonomy and self-expression and your needs for comfort and closeness 

Harmonization: pursuing transformative ideals of self-respect, empowerment and honesty, with a need to improve relations with authority figures.

Bhagavad Gita Summary - Book 8 - Akshara Brahmayoga (The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman)

This chapter can be compared to what is called in Christian Mysticism The Practice of the Presence of God, as popularized by Brother Lawrence

Chapter 8 Akshara Brahmayoga The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman

1- The seven things to be realised by meditation. (1-5)
1- What is that Brahman? Brahman is the Imperishable (Akshara), the Supreme.

2- What about the Individual Self (Adhyatma)? The Ego is said to be the Individual Self (Adhyatma, He who dwells in the body).

3- What is action (Karma), O Purushottama? The offering which causes the origin of physical beings is called action (Karma). 

4. And what is declared to be the physical region (Adhibhuta)? The physical region (Adhymata) is the perishable existence,

5- And what is the divine region (Adhidaiva) said to be? and Purusha or the Soul is the divine region (Adhidaivata).

6- And how and who is Adhiyajna (the Entity concerned with Sacrifice) here in this body, O Aladhusudana, 

The Adhiyajna (Entity concerned with Sacrifice) is Myself, here in the body, O best of the embodied. 

7- and how at the time of death art Thou to be known by the self-controlled? And whoso, at the time of death, thinking of Me alone, leaves the body and goes forth, he reaches My being ; there is no doubt in this.   

The normal rule is that after death a person attains that state which is in his mind at the time of death. He cannot avoid it. Just as one dreams of things which are constantly in the mind while awake, whatever one longs for in life comes to the mind at the time of death and he attains that state. Therefore make a habit of always remembering Me. Consider that whatever you hear, think, see, speak is Me throughout, then I am always with you. I assure you that if you offer your mind and intellect to Me then you will attain only Me. If you any doubts about this then experience it by practising it.

Purify your conscious mind by this practice and lead it to the spiritual path. If the mind, which takes one here and there, gets engrossed in  Brahman then who cares or remembers whether the body exists or not? The mind merges with Consciousness which is solid bliss. (Dnyaneshwari; 8:69-85, transl. M.R. Yardi)  

It may be of interest to consider in this relation the declaration of the ancient sages that all Souls do not depart from the body in the same way. They hold that there are seven great plexi governing other minor ones, these represent channels through which influences are received or given. Each of these channels has its own direct relation to one of the seven divisions of the system, thus showing Man to have the possibility of conscious relation with all the divisions. From this it would follow that the predominating idea of any one life would necessitate departure through some particular channel leading to its own appropriate realm of freedom or bondage. Thus Man binds himself or frees himself by reason of his spiritual power—and his connection with every department and division of great Nature. (Crosbie, Essays on the Gita, 151-52)

2- Constant meditation of the Divine is necessary. (6-7)

7. Therefore at all times do thou meditate on Me and fight : with mind and reason fixed on Me thou shalt doubtless come to Me alone. 

Whether one is dead or alive one is in reality Brahman only. Those who attained Brahman while still in the body do not bother about the body or when it is going to die. Why do they have to bother about whether the path is good or bad. Therefore Arjuna, be equipped with Yoga so that you attain Brahman. Then it does not matter when and where you shed your body, the unification with Brahman will be eternal. (Dnyaneshwari; 8:238-257, transl. M.R. Yardi)

3- The Divine Being to be meditated upon. (8-10) 

8. Meditating with the mind engaged in the Yoga of constant practice, not passing over to any thing else, one goes to the Supreme Purusha, the Resplendent, O son of Pritha. 

Practice consists in the repetition of one and the same idea, uninterrupted by any other thought, with reference to Me, the sole object of your thought. Such a practice is itself said to be Yoga. With the mind thus solely engaged in Yoga, not passing over to any other object, the Yogin who meditates according to the teaching of the scripture and of the teacher—of the sastra and acharya—reaches the Purusha, the Transcendental Being in the Solar Orb. (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)

4- Meditation of the Divine in the Pranava. (11-13)

12-13. Having closed all the gates, having confined mind in the heart, having fixed his life-breath in the head, engaged in firm Yoga, uttering Brahman, the one-syllabled 'Om,' thinking of Me, whoso departs, leaving the body, he reaches the Supreme Goal.

Having closed all the avenues of knowledge and having concentrated thought in the lotus of the heart, and with thought thus controlled, he ascends by the Nadi which passes upwards from the heart, and then fixing life-breath in the head, he utters the syllable ' Om ', the appellation of the Brahman, and meditates on me-' Leaving the body  shows the mode of departure. The departure takes place by the Self leaving the body, not by the Self being destroyed. (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)

5- No re-birth on attaining to the Divine Being. (14-16)

14. Whoso constantly thinks of Me and long, to him I am easily accessible, O son of Pritha, to the ever-devout Yogin. 

He who thinks of Me, the Supreme Lord, long — i. e., not for six months or a year, but uninterruptedly throughout life,—to that Yogin who is ever steadfast in thought, I am easily accessible. This being so, therefore, without thinking of another, one should ever dwell steadfast in Me.  Having attained to Me, the Isvara, having reached My being, they are not again subject to birth. Birth here is the seat of all pain arising from the body, etc., and is of an everchanging nature. Having reached the highest stage called moksha, they do not attain birth again. Those, on the other hand, who do not attain to Me, return again (to the earth).  (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)

5- The Day and the Night of Brahma. (17-19) 

17. They—those people who know day and night—know that the day of Brahma is a thousand yugas long and the night is a thousand yugas long.

The Unmanifested (Avyakta) is the sleeping condition of the Prajapati who is asleep. Out of That, all manifestations (vyaktis), all creatures, unmoving and moving (sthavara and jangama), are manifested at the coming on of day, i. e., when Brahma awakes. So, at the coming on of night, i. e., when Brahma goes to sleep, all the manifestations dissolve there only, in what is called Avyakta, the one already spoken of.  (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)

6- The Highest Goal—how reached. (20-22) 

21. What is called the Unmanifested and the Imperishable, That, they say, is the highest goal; which having reached none return.

That is My highest place.  Purusha is so called because He rests in the body, or because He is full. Than Him none is higher. He is attained by exclusive devotion, i.e., by Jnana or knowledge of the Self. All the created beings abide within the Purusha; for, every effect rests within its cause ; and by that Purusha the whole world is pervaded.  (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)

7- The Paths of Light and Darkness (23-27) 

26. These bright and dark Paths of the world are verily deemed eternal; by the one a man goes to return not, by the other he returns again.

The one is bright because it illumines knowledge; the other is because it is wanting in that light. The two paths are open to those only in the world who are engaged in action or devoted to knowledg ; they are not open to the whole world. They are eternal, because samsara is eternal. By the one: by the bright one.  (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)

8- Excellence of Yoga. (28)  

28. Whatever fruit of merit is declared to accrue from the Vedas, sacrifices, austerities and gifts,—beyond all this goes the Yogin on knowing this ; and he attains to the Supreme Primeval Abode.

Leo Tolstoy on Universal Brother/Sisterhood (The Kingdom of God is Within You)

Tolstoy’s concept of Universal Brotherhood was inspired by his reading of Schopenhauer and especially the ideas of Christian love, charity and fraternity in The Sermont of the Mount from the New Testament, although in A Letter to a Hindu he explains that : ‘’This thought appeared in most various forms at different times and places, with varying completeness and clarity. It found expression in Brahmanism, Judaism, Mazdaism (the teachings of Zoroaster), in Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and in the writings of the Greek and Roman sages, as well as in Christianity and Mohammedanism.’’

A seminal architect of non-violent peace activism, in 1908, Tolstoy wrote A Letter to a Hindu outlining his belief in non-violence as a means for India to gain independence from colonial rule. In 1909, Gandhi read a copy of the letter when he was becoming an activist in South Africa. He wrote to Tolstoy seeking proof that he was the author, which led to further correspondence. It is interesting to note that Blavatsky had brief contacts with both men.

See also :

Siblings: The Path to Universal Brotherhood in Tolstoy and Dostoevsky https://dataspace.princeton.edu/handle/88435/dsp01bv73c045f

Poetics of Brotherhood: Organic and Mechanistic Narrative in Late Tolstoi https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5612/slavicreview.70.4.0754

The man who believes in the inspiration of the Old Testament and the sacred character of David, who commanded on his deathbed the murder of an old man who had cursed him, and whom he could not kill himself because he was bound by an oath to him, and the similar atrocities of which the Old Testament is full, cannot believe in the holy love of Christ. The man who believes in the Church’s doctrine of the compatibility of warfare and capital punishment with Christianity cannot believe in the brotherhood of all men. (The Kingdom of God is Within, 1894, 33)

The Christian doctrine to love God and serve him, and only as a result of that love to love and serve one’s neighbor, seems to scientific men obscure, mystic, and arbitrary. And they would absolutely exclude the obligation of love and service of God, holding that the doctrine of love for men, for humanity alone, is far more clear, tangible, and reasonable.

Scientific men teach in theory that the only good and rational life is that which is devoted to the service of the whole of humanity. That is for them the importance of the Christian doctrine, and to that they reduce Christ’s teaching. They seek confirmation of their own doctrine in the Gospel, on the supposition that the two doctrines are really the same.

This idea is an absolutely mistaken one. The Christian doctrine has nothing in common with the doctrine of the Positivists, Communists, and all the apostles of the universal brotherhood of mankind, based on the general advantage of such a brotherhood. They differ from one another especially in Christianity’s having a firm and clear basis in the human soul, while love for humanity is only a theoretical deduction from analogy.

The doctrine of love for humanity alone is based on the social conception of life. The essence of the social conception of life consists in the transference of the aim of the individual life to the life of societies of individuals: family, clan, tribe, or state. This transference is accomplished easily and naturally in its earliest forms, in the transference of the aim of life from the individual to the family and the clan. The transference to the tribe or the nation is more difficult and requires special training. And the transference of the sentiment to the state is the furthest limit that the process can reach. (Kingdom 44-45)

Theoretically it follows, indeed, having extended the love and interest for the personality to the family, the tribe, and thence to the nation and the state, it would be perfectly logical for men to save themselves the strife and calamities that result from the division of mankind into nations and states by extending their love to the whole of humanity. This would be most logical, and theoretically nothing would appear more natural to its advocates, who do not observe that love is a sentiment that may or may not be felt, but that it is useless to advocate; and moreover, that love must have an object, and that humanity is not an object. It is nothing but a fiction. (Kingdom, 45)

The Christian doctrine shows man that the essence of his soul is love – that his happiness depends not on loving this or that object, but on loving the principle of the whole – God, whom he recognizes within himself as love, and therefore he loves all things and all men.

In this is the fundamental difference between the Christian doctrine and the doctrine of the Positivists, and all the theorizers about universal brotherhood on non-Christian principles. (Kingdom, 47)

We think today that the requirements of the Christian doctrine – of universal brotherhood, suppression of national distinctions, abolition of private property, and the strange injunction of nonresistance to evil by force – demand what is impossible. But it was just the same thousands of years ago, with every social or even family duty, such as the duty of parents to support their children, of the young to maintain the old, of fidelity in marriage. Still more strange, and even unreasonable, seemed the state duties of submitting to the appointed authority, and paying taxes, and fighting in defense of the country, and so on. All such requirements seem simple, comprehensible, and natural to us today, and we see nothing mysterious or alarming in them. But three or five thousand years ago they seemed to require what was impossible. (Kingdom. 49)

The man of the so-called educated classes lives in still more glaring inconsistency and suffering. Every educated man, if he believes in anything, believes in the brotherhood of all men, or at least he has a sentiment of humanity, or else of justice, or else he believes in science. And all the while he knows that his whole life is framed on principles in direct opposition to it all, to all the principles of Christianity, humanity, justice, and science.

He knows that all the habits in which he has been brought up, and that he could not give up without suffering, can only be satisfied through the exhausting, often fatal, toil of oppressed laborers, that is, through the most obvious and brutal violation of the principles of Christianity, humanity, and justice, and even of science (that is, economic science). He advocates the principles of fraternity, humanity, justice, and science, yet he lives so that he is dependent on the oppression of the working classes, which he denounces, and his whole life is based on the advantages gained by their oppression. Moreover he is directing every effort to maintaining this state of things so flatly opposed to all his beliefs.

We are all brothers – and yet every morning a brother or a sister must empty the bedroom slops for me. We are all brothers, but every morning I must have a cigar, a sweetmeat, an ice, and such things, which my brothers and sisters have been wasting their health in manufacturing, and I enjoy these things and demand them. We are all brothers, yet I live by working in a bank, or mercantile house, or shop at making all goods dearer for my brothers. We are all brothers, but I live on a salary paid me for prosecuting, judging, and condemning the thief or the prostitute whose existence the whole tenor of my life tends to bring about, and who I know ought not to be punished but reformed.

We are all brothers,but I live on the salary I gain by collecting taxes from needy laborers to be spent on the luxuries of the rich and idle. We are all brothers, but I take a stipend for preaching a false Christian religion, which I do not myself believe in, and which only serves to hinder men from understanding true Christianity. I take a stipend as priest or bishop for deceiving men in the matter of the greatest importance to them. We are all brothers, but I will not give the poor the benefit of my educational, medical, or literary labors except for money. We are all brothers, yet I take a salary for being ready to commit murder, for teaching men to murder, or making firearms, gunpowder, or fortifications. (Kingdom, 52)

All men of the modern world exist in a state of continual and flagrant antagonism between their conscience and their way of life. This antagonism is apparent in economic as well as political life. But most striking of all is the contradiction between the Christian law of the brotherhood of men existing in the conscience and the necessity under which all men are placed by compulsory military service of being prepared for hatred and murder – of being at the same time a Christian and a gladiator. (Kingdom, 57)

The attitude of the first section of thinkers, those who see a way out of war in international diplomatic measures, is well expressed in the report of the last Peace Congress in London, and the articles and letters upon war that appeared in No. 8 of the Revue des Revues, 1891. The congress after gathering together from various quarters the verbal and written opinion of learned men opened the proceedings by a religious service, and after listening to, addresses for five whole days, concluded them by a public dinner and speeches. They adopted the following resolutions:

“1. The congress affirms its belief that the brotherhood of man involves as a necessary consequence a brotherhood of nations. (Kingdom, 59)

To bring under the sway of Christianity savage nations who do not attack us and whom we have therefore no excuse for oppressing, we ought before all things to leave them in peace, and in case we need or wish to enter into closer relations with them, we ought only to influence them by Christian manners and Christian teaching, setting them the example of the Christian virtues of patience, meekness, endurance, purity, brotherhood, and love. Instead of that we begin by establishing among them new markets for our commerce, with the sole aim of our own profit; then we appropriate their lands, i.e., rob them; then we sell them spirits, tobacco, and opium, i.e., corrupt them; then we establish our morals among them, teach them the use of violence and new methods of destruction, i.e., we teach them nothing but the animal law of strife, below which man cannot sink, and we do all we can to conceal from them all that is Christian in us. After this we send some dozens of missionaries prating to them of the hypocritical absurdities of the Church, and then quote the failure of our efforts to turn the heathen to Christianity as an incontrovertible proof of the impossibility of applying the truths of Christianity in practical life. (Kingdom, 114)

So it was everywhere. But though this external form of life existed for centuries and still exists, very early—thousands of years before our time—amid this life based on coercion, one and the same thought constantly emerged among different nations, namely, that in every individual a spiritual element is manifested that gives life to all that exists, and that this spiritual element strives to unite with everything of a like nature to itself, and attains this aim through love. This thought appeared in most various forms at different times and places, with varying completeness and clarity. It found expression in Brahmanism, Judaism, Mazdaism (the teachings of Zoroaster), in Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and in the writings of the Greek and Roman sages, as well as in Christianity and Mohammedanism. The mere fact that this thought has sprung up among different nations and at different times indicates that it is inherent in human nature and contains the truth. (Letter to a Hindu, 2, 1909)