नैते सृती पार्थ जानन्योगी मुह्यति कश्चन |
तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु योगयुक्तो भवार्जुन || 27||
naite sṛitī pārtha jānan yogī muhyati kaśhchana
tasmāt sarveṣhu kāleṣhu yoga-yukto bhavārjuna
na—never; ete—these two; sṛitī—paths; pārtha—Arjun, the son of Pritha; jānan—knowing; yogī—a yogi; muhyati—bewildered; kaśhchana—any; tasmāt—therefore; sarveṣhu kāleṣhu—always; yoga-yuktaḥ—situated in Yog; bhava—be; arjuna—Arjun
Translation:
No yogi who understands these two paths is ever deluded. Therefore, Ο Arjuna, at all times be steadfast in yoga.
Commentary:
It is stated here that the yogi who understands the two paths of light and darkness is not deluded. It means that he would never go into darkness and delusion, but always ness is not de rest in the light of knowledge and truth. Having seen what is poison and what is nectar, the wise man rejects the poison and takes the nectar. So also, knowing clearly – this is Atma, that is Anatma, this is light and that is darkness, this is immortality and that is death – who will go into darkness and death? No. He would never allow delusion to come near him. He has understood the secret of life and death, by his discriminatory reason. Therefore the Lord says:- “O Arjuna! Be established in yoga; have your being always in the light of Brahman.” The Lord’s command is to hold the knowledge firm at all times because negligence even for a second would give way for Maya to work evil in the heart of man.
The moment when the Lord is forgotten, that very moment causes danger, delusion, harm, and wrong action. The absence of light is darkness. Forgetfulness of Truth is itself the empire of Maya. The moment when man begins to enquire after truth, Maya disappears. When such enquiry lapses even for a moment, Maya enters, declaring ‘I am here’. When people pursue the thief determined to catch him, he runs away and disappears. Such is Maya. It is always in and around the people but when they pursue the enquiry after Truth, it disappears. So the enquiry should be kept up continuously. Man then lives in the light of Truth.
Yogayukto bhava: Yoga means union with Paramatma, through knowledge, devotion, or dhyana or by any and every means pointed out in the Sastras. To be established in such yoga is what is taught here.
SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI ON AFTER-DEATH TRAVEL
A devotee once asked Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi various questions about rebirth. D: How long does it take for a man to be reborn after death? Is it immediately after death or some time later? M: You do not know what you were before birth, yet you want to know what you will be after death. Do you know what you are now? Birth and death pertain to the body. You are identifying the Self with the body. It is a wrong identification. You believe that the body has been born and will die and confound the phenomena relating to the one with the other. Know your real being, and these questions will not arise. Birth and rebirth are mentioned only to make you investigate the question and find out that there are neither births nor rebirths. They relate to the body and not to the Self. Know the Self and be not perturbed by doubts. (Talks. 279)
It is the vāsanā-filled mind which is addicted to complex concepts. It wants all kinds of complex things—travel from Mūlādhāra to Sahasrāra, going from one loka to another, and so on. When people asked Sri Ramana Maharshi about such after-death travel, Maharshi would remark. “Why do people not like the simple truth ‘You are the Self’! They want to bring in far-fetched meanings even for the scriptures. When the scriptures say, ‘The Truth is within you,’ why are they wandering about like this? Indeed, this is Māyā.”
Know the risk of not knowing the Truth and the danger to which you are exposing yourself! If you fail to know the truth—that Nirvāṇa is here and now; it is in yourself, in stilling the mind, in realising the Self—then you are indeed booked for suffering; great suffering awaits you. (Source: Srimad Bhagavad Gita – Elixir of Eternal Wisdom | Vol 1)
Question: Who is not deluded?
Answer: He who knows light and darkness, knowledge and ignorance, does not fall into error and delusion.
Question: What is the duty of the aspirant?
Answer: He should always be established in yoga.
Question: Is it not enough to be in yoga for a short time?
Answer: No. To forget light, to forget Truth, is to fall into darkness and untruth. So one should always be established in yoga.