GITA FOR CHILDREN
PART 30
(Continued from the previous issue)

CHAPTER 13

78. Arjuna now asks, ‘Krishna, You are saying that everything is God and that there is nothing other than You. Yet, a short while ago, You were talking of Kshetra and Kshetrajna as if they were two distinct entities. Now which of this is true?”

79. Krishna says, ‘You have raised an important point and that gives Me an opportunity to mention something that I have not till now. You see Arjuna, there are two ways of looking at this world. One is through the Looking Glass of Oneness and the other is through the Looking Glass of Diversity. One who uses the former will see Unity in diversity, while the one who uses the latter will see Diversity in Unity, that is all. Of course, viewing through the Looking Glass of Oneness is preferable.’

80. ‘Let Me illustrate with a simple example. Say you have a narrow beam of white light. Allow this beam to strike a prism at a suitable angle. Passing through the prism, the beam gets split into the seven rainbow colours. A person who is seeing the beam before it has entered the prism would say it is white while a person who sees the emergent beam would say it has rainbow colours.’

81. ‘Now what has all this got to do with the Kshetra and Kshetrajana business? Simply this. An evolved being is like the person who does not see diverse rainbow colours but just a white beam. For him, the Kshetra and the Kshetrajana are one. Incidentally, such a person does not see the world merely with his physical eye. Rather, he uses Inner Vision; that is how he is able to see Unity in Diversity.’

82. ‘In the example that I just gave, the prism is Maya or delusion. If the prism is removed, there is no beam splitting and no rainbow colours. In the same way, if a person gets rid of Maya, he would see only Unity and not Diversity.’

83. ‘Let Me now go a bit deeper into this business of Diversity in Unity and Unity in Diversity. I am the sole Creator and all-in-all, but with respect to the Universe, I perform three distinct functions. I first function as the Creator, bringing the Universe into existence. I then wear a different hat and act as the Sustainer. And when the time comes I change My role once more, this time to function as the Dissolver of the Universe.’

84. ‘People worship these three aspects of Mine individually as Brahma, the Creator; Vishnu, the Sustainer and Protector; and Siva, the Dissolver. These three Gods are referred to as the Cosmic Trinity. In reality, all this is just a convenient way of describing My three different functions and aspects.’

85. ‘Let Me now move on to the emergence of diversity from the Primordial Cosmic Oneness. Basically, this diversity comes about on account of the Gunas. For now that much is enough; more about Gunas later. With respect to the diversity present in Creation, you can treat the Gunas as playing a role similar to the prism.’

86. ‘One who is below the Gunas would be bound by them and always experience diversity. In particular, he would see God as different from himself. This is what philosophers refer to as duality. By contrast, one who is above the Gunas, or Gunatheetha as he is called, will perceive only Unity, though his eyes may show him diversity.’

87. ‘OK, the big question now is: “How does a person immersed in this world of diversity rise above it?” This is a very practical question, because 99.999% of the people are immersed in duality and swamped by diversity. They insist on seeing God as quite different from themselves. How to get out of this rut?’

88. ‘One starts with simple steps. One first firmly resolves, “I shall never hurt any being whatsoever.” People hunt and kill animals for sheer pleasure. This is very bad. Are there no better ways of enjoying oneself? Don’t the animals experience pain while being killed? Must one kill another living being for entertainment?’

89. Arjuna asks, ‘OK, but what about slaughtering animals for food? Man has to live, must he not?’

90. Krishna replies, ‘Yes, man has to live and to eat. But who said that you have to kill animals, birds and fishes in order to eat? Why on earth do you think I created crops, vegetables, and fruits? Are there not people who are vegetarians? Are they not keeping themselves alive and healthy? The food argument does not wash!’

91. ‘From the principle of hurting never, you must move on to being kind to all beings.’

92. Arjuna interrupts and ask, ‘Just a minute. How do you expect me to be kind to a tiger?’

93. Krishna replies, ‘I knew you would come up something like that. Listen when I say be kind, I don’t expect you to go the tiger, pat it on its back, scratch it, fondle it and do things that you would do to a cat. All I am saying is that you must realise that God is present in the tiger also, and at least prevent it from becoming extinct.’

94. ‘You know Arjuna, animals are not what you think them to be. They too respond to love and kindness. You must be aware that Rishis live in forests full of wild animals, snakes and what not. But they never come to any harm. Why? Because they always radiate love. And when wild beasts pass that way, this Love envelops them and they become peaceful.’

95. ‘People have little idea of the Power of Pure Love. If you are able to access this Divine Power, there is no limit to what you can do. So the drill is straightforward. You start by not hurting anyone. Next you start to love. In due course, you will move away from diversity and begin to experience a Cosmic Oneness.’

96. ‘The scriptures say that God has a thousand eyes, thousands of feet and so on. People do not pause to think what precisely this means. Instead, they immediately start imagining a form with a thousand eyes, a thousand feet and so on. If anybody had such physiological features, that person would look like a monster! God is not a monster.’

97. ‘No, God does not sport a monster-like appearance! What the scriptures mean is that the totality of humanity is God. Society is God. Incidentally, this implies that if you serve Society, you are in fact serving God!’

98. ‘The question arises: If Society is God, then how is man related to God? Simple! Man is just a limb of God - that is all. The day man feels that way, his ego would disappear.’

99. ‘To wrap it all up, the body and the Mind are very sacred, and together ought to be regarded as constituting the Temple of God . Nothing must be thought, said or done as to pollute this Temple built by God Himself for Himself.’

100. ‘Those who understand clearly that the body and Mind are vehicles for journeying towards Me, are very dear to Me. And as they come towards Me, I shall be waiting for them with open arms! What more can one ask for?’

END OF CHAPTER 13

(To be continued...)

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– Heart2Heart Team

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