In the previous article, it was explained that by attaching your mind to God, you gradually purify your mind, which internally reduces desire and anger, and eventually eliminates them. That brought up a question regarding the material nature of the mind and the separation between the mind and God. If God is beyond maya, and our mind is made of maya, then how will our mind be able to join with God?
Mind can never go beyond maya – then how can it join with God?
It’s an axiom that the mayic mind’s field of activity is limited to the extent of maya (gogochar jahan lagi man jaee, so sab maya janehun bhaee – Ramayan). Whatever is beyond maya can never be known or experienced by the mayic mind. Accordingly, mind should not be able to reach God, which means we should not be able to attach our mind to God, nor enjoy the aforementioned benefits.
If this were all there was to the situation, then not one soul in history could have ever attained God. Fortunately, there is another factor we haven’t yet considered: God’s grace, and His intention to grace us. God knows that until He gives us a Divine mind, we can never know Him or visualize Him. Until He gives us Divine senses, we can never see Him or experience Him in any way. So He bridges the gap.
When someone -even with a mayic mind – thinks of Him, He graces them. That grace is the Divine power that overcomes the gulf between the material mind and God.
Through God’s grace, we can overcome the mayic mind’s limitations
God is omnipresent, and His grace is omnipresent. It means that He and His grace are also present in our mind – however, they are unknown to us. God is all-knowing, so when someone remembers Him with a desire to receive His grace, He knows it, and He intends to grace that person. Thus, there is an instantaneous connection established, and God’s grace is received in the mind.
The grace – which was already there, but in a “dormant” or “inactivated” form – is received and experienced in the mind. The activating factors -our desire to receive God’s grace, and His desire to grace us – combine to create the connection. The result is that through God’s grace, we are able to overcome the limitation of our mayic mind, and actually attach it to God.
This is what Shree Krishna had advised Arjun to do – to join his mind with what is beyond his mind as a means of conquering the unvanquishable foes, desire and anger. Now we understand what He meant by that, and how it is possible.
The most effective way of attaching the mind to God
The most effective way of joining our mind with God, and thus activating His grace, is by practicing roop dhyan. Roop dhyan means visualizing the form of Shree Krishna, or meditating on the form of Shree Krishna. Simply by making the effort to visualize His form, we create the necessary connection, and are able to receive His grace. This is also called devotional remembrance, or simply smaran.
Along with the visualization, there must be a faith that it is real, live Shree Krishna we are seeing in our meditation. After all, He is omnipresent, so He is in our mind, and He is in our meditation. So there is no right or wrong form to meditate on.
Your meditation cannot be incorrect, even though you may not be visualizing His actual Divine form – because He is gracing you for your sincere effort, and your faithful remembrance, not for the correctness of your meditation. As was explained above, our mayic mind cannot correctly conceive of God’s Divinity – it is only due to His grace that we are able to forge a connection with Him.
Therefore, through roop dhyan, we can join our mind with Shree Krishna in order to receive His grace. His grace will gradually purify our mind, which will slowly reduce, and ultimately eliminate, all mayic defilements, and result in God realization. This is the practical path to God which can be adopted and practiced anytime and anywhere.
This concludes the discussion on the third chapter. In the beginning of the fourth chapter, Shree Krishna tells Arjun that He originally had given the knowledge of this path to Vivasvan several million years ago. Arjun wants to know how that is possible, since Shree Krishna is standing in front of him right now. In response, Shree Krishna explains the secret of His Divine appearance in this world. That will be the topic of the next article.
Disciple of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj
Swami Nikhilanand Ji is a Canadian born Hindu spiritual leader based in Austin, Texas. He is a sanyasi disciple and pracharak of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj.
Attracted to the teachings of Hinduism from a young age, Swamiji eventually let his deep spiritual longing lead him to India, where he was most fortunate to come under the guidance of Shree Kripaluji Maharaj. Thereafter, living in the ashrams of JKP, he extensively studied Hindi, the philosophy of the prime Sanskrit scriptures (Vedas, Darshan Shastras, Gita, Bhagwatam), and practiced meditation in the tradition of raganuga bhakti. In 2003, he was given sanyas. Now, with the blessings of his Guruji, he offers satsang programs throughout America, engaging audiences with his clear explanations of Hindu philosophy coupled with inspired chanting of Sanskrit mantras and shlokas and charming nam sankirtan.
His informative and compelling speeches provide practical insight into how to adopt the teachings of Sanatan Dharm into our daily lives, and inspire us to awaken our inner spiritual potential.
To stay in touch with Swami Nikhilanand Ji, like his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SwamiNikhilanand or follow him on twitter at https://twitter.com/Swami_Nikhil.
Swami Nikhilanand
