बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते |
वासुदेव: सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभ: || 19||
bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ
bahūnām—many; janmanām—births; ante—after; jñāna-vān—one who is endowed with knowledge; mām—unto me; prapadyate—surrenders; vāsudevaḥ—Shree Krishna, the son of Vasudev; sarvam—all; iti—that; saḥ—that; mahā-ātmā—great soul; su-durlabhaḥ—very rare
Translation:
At the end of many births the man of wisdom seeks refuge in Me, realizing that Vāsudeva is all. Rare indeed is such a high-souled person.
Commentary:
From time immemorial, man has passed through innumerable births. From worms and germs, reptiles, birds, and beasts, the man, at last, attain the human birth. Several births pass away in a state of ignorance. And then, the desire to know the truth is born in the heart of man. Even then, several births pass away in the ups and downs of spiritual Sadhana. Ultimately man realises the truth, that everything is God. So long as there is the slightest trace of differentiation knowledge is imperfect. Perfection of jnana is the discovery that there is only One and that is God, and there is nothing but He in the whole universe. Sages of such realisation are indeed very rare.
But it would be foolish to be lazy and dull in spiritual sadhana, because realisation can come only after many births. On the other hand, knowing full well that he has passed through millions of births, man should strive for liberation even in this very birth. The test of knowledge is the recognition of God everywhere. So long as the objective world ‘drisya’ dominates the mind causing contradictory feelings of attraction and repulsion, there is no knowledge. The aspirant should intensify his sadhana till he comes to know without any doubt that what has been appearing as the objective world is nothing but the Lord Himself.
The verse does not mean that only after many births man realises God. It means that man acquires knowledge after many births and he then realises God. That auspicious moment when such realisation takes place is the end of all births. If one makes himself fit for realisation, knowledge may dawn on him this moment. There is no time-limit. Ripeness of mind is all that is needed.
The Lord confers the title ‘mahatma‘ on such realised souls.
That state is the Supreme Brahman, extremely subtle, but positively existent. Though considered a nihil(void) by gross-minded people because of the impossibility of knowing Him through the senses, He is what the Bhāgavatas call Vāsudeva. — Srimad Bhagavatam 9.9.49
The Absolute Truth is pure consciousness and the ultimate object of attainment. It is one, devoid of any divisions of internal and external. It is eternal and is called Brahman by the jnanis. The same Absolute Truth is called Paramatma by the yogis and is situated without any disturbance in the heart of each living entity. It is called Bhagavan by devotees. The learned scholars call Him Vasudeva. — Srimad Bhagavatam 5.12.11
The Supreme Truth to be sought after, is described by enlightened ones as Non-dual Consciousness. It is variously called as Brahman (by the Vedantins) as Paramatman (by the votaries of Hiranyagarbha) and as the Bhagavan (by the Bhaktas). — Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.11
One day Sri Ramakrishna became a kalpataru (the wish-fulfilling tree) and fulfilled the wishes of his disciples. Some asked for devotion, some knowledge, and some liberation. Seeing Sharat silent, the Master asked him: “How would you like to realize God? What divine vision do you prefer to see in meditation?” Sharat replied: “I do not want to see any particular form of God in meditation. I want to see Him in all beings. I do not like visions.” The Master said with a smile: “That is the last word in spiritual attainment. You cannot have it all at once.” “But I won’t be satisfied with anything short of that,” replied Sharat. “I shall strive my best until I am able to attain it.” At last the Master blessed him, saying, “Yes, you will attain it.”
From Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna — [Source]
The conversation turned to the spiritual zeal of devotees, as illustrated in the earnestness of the gopis of Vrindavan. Ramlal sang:
Thou art my All in All, O Lord! — the Life of my life, the Essence of essence;
In the three worlds I have none else but Thee to call my own.
Thou art my peace, my joy, my hope; Thou my support, my • wealth, my glory;
Thou my wisdom and my strength.
Thou art my home, my place of rest; my dearest friend, my next of kin;
My present and my future, Thou; my heaven and my salvation.
Thou art my scriptures, my commandments; Thou art my ever gracious Guru;
Thou the Spring of my boundless bliss.
Thou art the Way, and Thou the Goal; Thou the Adorable One, O Lord!
Thou art the Mother tender-hearted; Thou the chastising Father;
Thou the Creator and Protector; Thou the Helmsman who dost steer
My craft across the sea of life.
MASTER (to the devotees): “Ah! What a beautiful song! — ‘Thou art my All in All.’”
Ramlal sang again, this time describing the pangs of the gopis on being separated from their beloved Krishna:1
Hold not, hold not the chariot’s wheels!
Is it the wheels that make it move?
The Mover of its wheels is Krishna,
By whose will the worlds are moved. . . .
The Master went into deep samadhi. His body was motionless; he sat with folded hands as in his photograph. Tears of joy flowed from the corners of his eyes. After a long time his mind came down to the ordinary plane of consciousness. He mumbled something, of which only a word now and then could be heard by the devotees in the room. He was saying: “Thou art I, and I am Thou — Thou eatest — Thou — I eat! . . . What is this confusion Thou hast created?”
Continuing, the Master said: “I see everything like a man with jaundiced eyes! I see Thee alone everywhere. O Krishna, Friend of the lowly! O Eternal Consort of my soul! O Govinda!”
As he uttered the words “Eternal Consort of my soul” and “Govinda”, the Master again went into samadhi. There was complete silence in the room. The eager and unsatiated eyes of the devotees were fixed on the Master, a God-man of infinite moods.
For many years they lived in Dehu, and Bahinabai gave birth to her daughter Kashibai and later to her son Vithoba. After Sant Tukaram’s physical disappearance in 1650, the family shifted to Shirur where she died at the age of 72 in 1700. On her deathbed, she composed a very unique set of abhangs, where she describes her twelve previous births to her son Vithoba. She says that during all these births she was a spiritual seeker and asserts that the present birth would be her last. (Source: Bahinabai)
There was an ascetic, who worshipped God Ganesā. He had an idol of Ganesā, and another one of a rat, both made of gold. Both of theseweighed equally. Once the ascetic decided to go on a pilgrimage, He went to a goldsmith to sell them. The goldsmith weighed them and told the ascetic, that the value of each of the two was the same. At this the ascetic grew angry with the goldsmith and asked him how a vehicle could be equal, in value to the Lord. The goldsmith replied. “Sir, I am not buying either God Ganesā, or his vehicle, the rat. I buy gold. So I shall pay you according to their weight” ‘Thus, as a goldsmith does not notice Lord Ganesā or his vehicle, he sees only gold. So does a great soul behold God, he does not, see the world. (Source: Gita Sadhak Sanjivini by Ramsukhdasji Maharaj)
Question: When does man attain moksha?
Answer: When he acquires jnana.
Question: When does he acquire jnana?
Answer: After many births.
Question: What is the realisation of a jnani?
Answer: That God is everything.
Question: Are such men common?
Answer: No. Very rare.
Question: What is the test of the jnani?
Answer: The realisation that everything is God.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 7 🔻 (30 Verses)
