In Quest of Truth - Q&A with Shri Babaji
In Quest of Truth - Q&A with Shri Babaji
The Teachings of Shri Krishna | Thus Spake Babaji - online Q&A #90
The Teachings of Shri Krishna | Thus Spake Babaji - online Q&A #90
Babaji explains various teachings of Shri Krishna from the Mahabharata
0:00 Intro
0:06 Sometimes the Pandavas sought Shri Krishna's advice, sometimes they didn't - is there a lesson to be learnt from this?
3:25 How to decide what is appropriate to ask the Guru
6:40 The teaching behind the disrobing of Draupadi
15:50 Why Gandhari, the mother of the Kauravas, blamed Shri Krishna for not stopping the war
24:52 Why did Shri Krishna give up teaching at the end?
26:40 Shri Krishna's teaching of "You have the right to action but not the fruits of those actions"
30:39 What is the significance of the vows taken in Shri Krishna's teachings?
31:59 Shri Krishna said that when dharma has declined, the divine will incarnate again
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Discourse: Thus Spake Babaji - online Q and A No. 90
The Teachings of Sri Krishna
You tube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xcD7x9i2oo
Recorded: 23 April 2022
Start of short discourse
Start of Questions and Answers
Question: This week we thought we would look at some of the teachings of Krishna, because Babaji often talks about Krishna’s wisdom. In one of the cases the Pandavas had taken Krishna as their Guru. But during the Mahabharata epic, sometimes they sought his advice, and sometimes they didn't. Is there a lesson to be learnt about when they did and didn't take the Guru’s advice?
Babaji Maharaj: Yeah, definitely in my opinion. Often an ego of a person may dominate, command the nature of the mind. So thus inducing one to go aggressively, and might be getting trapped into some trouble. So, without taking the advice of the Master. Our one ego should be that without my Guru’s advice I won't do anything. So we don't need any other respect, self-respect, nothing matters, that we take our Guru’s advice. Like for example, when they went for the dice game which resulted in their vanavasam [exile] and the disrobing episode of Draupadi, so many calamities, unpleasantness, and anger, taking vows to kill - all these things happened. If only they had taken Sri Krishna’s advice, whether we should play or not. If at all play, what rules we should accept. Before going into the game, when we set a rule everybody has a choice whether we want to accept such rules or not. But Pandavas, they went on simply accepting whatever rules Duryodhana set. Keep stake of your kingdom, your brothers, your wife, everything they went on doing like that one, Yudhishthira. So instead, if he had told that he’d like to consult his Guru; there was nothing to lose. It was a no insult taking advice from a Guru is really the self-respect. That is our respect. When we try, “This is what my Guru taught me, I would like to go like this.” Today also we can tell, “My Guru taught me and I would like to behave like this only.” That is important for me, not what the society talks and not what the world says. So that is very important. See, because they didn't do that one, they got into such trouble. A big war happened finally. And almost everybody died in that war who participated in the Indian subcontinent. And Draupadi was almost about to be disrobed. So, all these things happened. So these things could have been avoided. And that's very important. That's what a beautiful lesson that we all can learn.
Question: But also Babaji, we don't want to be bothering the Guru with all sorts of trivial questions about ordinary worldly things, so where do we decide what is appropriate to us?
Babaji Maharaj: You see, there are trivial things in the world certainly. It is you who have to take a decision. A Guru might give a hint, or talk of a justice and just learn to face whatever it is. Certain things a Guru can definitely advise; “No, this is wrong,” about justice. If you ask, “Can I put my wife at stake? I want to play a dice game.” Definitely we can tell a definite answer, “This is not proper. Improper. You have no such a right to put at stake another person. Never mind even if she's your wife; you should be protecting her, her self-respect, you should be taking care of her, and you yourself must not put at stake. Only a little bit of money that is all enough. And after a limit you should stop.” Like that one can advise easily. So that's what is important, but there are certain trivial things also might be there. Sometimes people want us to say, advise; “Should I go into this, should I buy a home or not buy a home, should I marry, not marry?” So these are personal choices. “Bhai you want to marry, you marry, and you want to buy a home you buy a home, we will pray for you, we will bless you”. To buy a home or to marry, just take care that you don't do injustice and you don't rob somebody, you don't go into such wrong things. So then you work, work hardly, earn your money, then you buy a home. So there is no problem. You can buy a car; you can buy an aeroplane if you have money. So that is what. That becomes trivial there. It's your choice, you just..
When you buy, take care that you don't misbehave with that. It's after all missionary houses, everything. Never lose. Like we tell, anybody comes, they talk “When we are retiring, we will be acquiring such funds and wondering where I should spend?” We simply tell, “Wait, take care of the principal amount; keep in a fixed deposit.” Like in the worldly advice also we can tell. “Don't spend that one. You receive the interest. From the interest you can help somebody; you can live a beautiful life, but don't lose the main money, principal amount. That's very important.” Like this type of worldly wisdom advice can be given. But often it is certain other things. You want to get married, you get married. It's up to you. “I want to take to sanyas”. These are the way of life. This has to be a personal choice. Not necessarily that the Guru will impose and tell you. The Guru can advise.
Question: Thank you, Babaji. You mentioned the disrobing of Draupadi. I don't know whether I've pronounced that correctly. And you said at the time there were many very respected leaders present. And each of them in turn, she asked to them to intervene, to protect her. But each of them, even though they were very highly respected and spiritual people, they each gave an excuse as to why they couldn't. I know You've spoken of this before, but I think it's a wonderful lesson. Could You explain that situation to us please?
Babaji Maharaj: Yet again this comes under one of the important things that Sri Krishna taught; “Never define what your duties are,” means what are its shape and form it will have to be. Just like for example, Bheesma a great sire, he was grand sire of the family who was highly respected and still in that age he was very powerful with his weapons. He could have stopped anybody, could have annihilated anybody. But he had surrendered to the king; “I will take king’s orders only. Without that I won't do anything. That will be my duties.” He had taken a vow. Now Draupadi was daughter-in-law of the same royal clan. So she was into trouble by the wicked Duryodhana who was also a prince of the clan only. And now she comes to him to see the justice and protect. “Where is it? How could Yudhishthira lose me when he had lost himself and why didn't you stop him when he was putting at stake his kingdom and his brothers, everyone? This is not justified.” Bheeshma said, “I am sorry daughter; I cannot help you because I see my father's shadow in the king's throne. I have surrendered. Without the king’s orders, I cannot do anything. I have taken a vow that I will protect this kingdom.” At that time, that man forgot. If he had protected Draupadi, not allowed anybody to touch her or do anything wrong before Sri Krishna could intervene or any such thing could happen, then he would have earned a lot of respect. Not only that he would have protected the entire clan from going into war, unnecessary war, which was born out of greed and misjudgements, and all such things that happened. So that's what. He defined his dharma, means duties. “My dharma is only to listen to the king’s orders.”
If the king becomes either wicked or if not wicked, powerless, or totally attached to his own family, he becomes partial, he cannot do any justice – so if you surrender to such kings, you will be putting yourself into danger. And whatever decision that you might have to take, whatever orders would be given to you, you might be putting it in danger. That's what during the war Sri Krishna tells Arjuna; “Bheeshma is fit to be killed now because he has taken a decision to go against dharma, and he will be killing all people here, innocent people also, unnecessarily. If only as a one person, if he had acted properly at that time when Draupadi was being disrobed, then this war could have been avoided. Nobody would have had to be killed at all; everybody could have lived peacefully and happily. And now he has sided again with the injustice so he is also to be killed. Otherwise a justice can never work. A dharmaatma king can never come into power.” That's what Sri Krishna dreamt. “If a ruler is both righteous - you understand the word righteousness? Dharmaatma, dutiful, for the larger cause, for his subjects and also powerful, then only subjects will have peace and happiness; they will have that protection from the king like a father.” If he is either of the two only, then others will take over. He was powerful, but he has misjudged his own dharma to be the king’s orders. One other person's orders cannot be your duties. You should know what is your duty. Nobody should impose that; you must be knowing that one. So that's what Sri Krishna taught. That's very important in our life.
We learn anything, even from the Guru also. It is not the Guru who will impose any such duties to you. Guru has a right to advise you, then you have to apply your wisdom and then work like that one. You have to do the right things, if he had done - so that's what happened. Like Dronacharya also defined, “I have eaten the salt of this royal clan. I cannot do anything without the king’s orders.” First, they should have set priority, “We will protect this woman first. We should set the priority - that is justified. Nobody must try to disrobe here, that too in the court in front of all of us. It cannot be allowed. No problem even if the world is going to blame me.”
That's what when Krishna went ahead to kill Bheeshma taking that wheel of a chariot. Then Arjuna comes running “Krishna, you took a vow not to take up weapons in this war. Please don't do this one. People will blame you; world will blame you.” Sri Krishna says “No problem. The world will blame me personally, but at least I'll be able to establish dharma, justice by killing Bheeshma and Drona and all these people. They are fit to be killed; it is necessary. Otherwise, they will annihilate the entire armies and kill innocents, everybody will get killed. We have to do this thing. Important.” That is the dharma Krishna taught.
Before that, Sri Krishna explored all avenues to stop the war. Not that they were violent or Krishna was violent or simply he enjoyed going into war for very smaller thing. Before going into that war, lot of warnings were given, lot of negotiations, talking, everything was tried, “give them.” He asked Duryodhana, “If you don't want to give the kingdom, no problem, just give them five villages so that they can live independently. I will assure you to make them accept that and live peacefully. You live with your kingdom, no problem.” That also Duryodhana did not accept. That is the height of wickedness and evil, when you become greedy. So, all these things happen. So, that is the reason one has to be careful - where you had to take that advice after Guru, finally where you have to do the things your own. General principles you understand. Try to do a larger cause. That is the general principle we have to understand all the time. So, then you have to take… We had to defend this Ashram for a larger cause so that today peacefully people are able to come and sit and do meditation here. Nobody is there to trouble them. We are here as caretakers of our Guru. We wanted to be faithful to our Guru. So, whatever that is. So, like that we had to take a decision. This is for a larger cause, not for my personal interest. For personal interes, I could have gone anywhere else, built an ashram and just lived peacefully there. Like we built an ashram in my native village - I could have easily gone there and lived peacefully, why should I have bothered? But I had a duty to be faithful to my Guru. My Guru’s institution is like protecting a kingdom, protecting a country, protecting this institution so that this can be useful for common people. Anybody should be able to come and do meditation there. He need not be a big general, need not be a royal person, need not be a rich person. He can be anybody who can come sit and meditate. So that is how we learnt dharma from Sri Krishna’s teachings and His life.
Question: Thank You Babaji. So after the war was over, Gandhari, the mother of the Kauravas - all of them had died, they'd been killed in the war, and she cursed Krishna and blamed Him for the war and said that He as Krishna could have stopped the war. Can You talk about that, please?
Babaji Maharaj: Yeah, it is sad that Gandhari held Sri Krishna as responsible, whereas Sri Krishna was not at all responsible. He always advised. Even in their childhood, also, he used to advise the parents, “Take care of your children, this is not good that such enmity is brewing. One day if it becomes a war, everybody's ready to kill each other. Nobody will listen to philosophy or any such thing.” So He always advised. But King Dhritarashtra was always very much attached to his own son. So he overlooked his children's faults, and he did not want to do decision, justice, which all elders decided. “Let them have their kingdoms and live peacefully with dignity, all of them. So that was also not acceptable. At that time nobody bothered, nobody listened to Krishna’s advice. When Sri Krishna finally came to the court as an ambassador of Pandavas to ask, “Let us avoid this war. We don't have to fight this war unnecessarily. And don't challenge unnecessarily. Duryodhana can give only five villages, is good enough. I can assure you I will make Pandavas accept this.” Then also Dhritarashtra, Bheeshma, nobody… Even Vidura advises Dhritarashtra, “When one branch of a tree has caught fire, we need to cut that branch immediately. Otherwise, the fire will spread and destroy the whole tree. So, your whole clan got washed away, wiped out in this war, Dhritarashtra. You need to get rid of Duryodhana. Just for one person’s adamant stand and greed and power and arrogance. He is going to drag everybody in the Subcontinent into this war. When there is war, from both sides there will be loss of lives - who are not at all connected to this war also may get killed unnecessarily.”
You see in this world today also these types of wars are continuing, continuing and people are sitting on the table doing conference, doing justice, condemning who is right, who is wrong. These discussions are going on. Everybody wants to define in their own way. One tells that “He is wrong in defining.” Another tells, “No he is wrong in defining.” So this is happening but innocent people are getting killed there. They won't wait there. Whoever kills people, “O these are innocent people. Let me wait for right decisions in United Nations.” Nobody is waiting there for nobody. So it is all happening. So, this is what happens.
Though Vidura tells Dhritarashtra, “This is time. You don't feel so much attachment to your son who is going to destroy the entire Subcontinent. You just get rid of your son. If you don't want to kill him, at least send him away to forest. He is not fit to be in the kingdom, not fit to be a king at all. He is greedy for his selfish things. He doesn't consider about others, righteousness. All these are all very important,” he says. But yet Dhritarashtra doesn't listen. So that's what Sri Krishna tells. “O mother, I can understand your pain. In our households, being a woman you did not have anything to say. But all the men folk you saw, the king and others, they all kept quiet. Why don't you blame them? Why didn't you curse them? No. Yet, it's okay. If this is the prarabhda I have to undergo, you want to curse me. Because my job was only to work for justice. Not that I loved only Pandavas, I did not love Kauravas; it is their nature. Whoever has wrong nature, they will see the end and they will go the wrong way if they don't listen to me.”
That's what finally Sri Krishna tells Balarama also, “When Yadavas were killing each other…” Because there was no war after Mahabharata; for nearly 18 years it was all peaceful. So there was enormous wealth. Yadavas had become womanizers and alcoholics. Then they started fighting with each other and killing each other. Balarama says, “Krishna, You helped the entire Subcontinent.” That hardly anybody wants to recognize in Sri Krishna’s life. Throughout His life, Swamiji used to tell, “So much Sri Krishna worked.” All these things I have heard from Swamiji’s mouth only telling about His opinion, about what really happened in Mahabharata. What happened? People tried to blame the Guru, but they don't listen to the Guru when they have to listen. Once they have done the wrong thing, they got involved, then they tell, “My Guru wanted me to go and do these things. Why it is not becoming successful?” Guru will not tell anything. You want to go anywhere, you want to go and act in movies, and I will tell you, “Okay, my blessings are there.” Then if something goes wrong, and you don't know how to deal with the situation and you lose, then you cannot blame the Guru. “The Guru told me to go and act.” The Guru will not tell that “You have to go and get married, you go and do this one. You go and do this.” When they come, “We want to do this. We got married, we are getting married.” Our duty is to bless them. We pray for you. Meditate so that you will be able to do proper justice to yourself and others. You will act upon in a justified way, your judgments are better. That's what Swamiji told always.
So, Swamiji spoke about Sri Krishna also. “People blame Krishna and don't understand Krishna. But He worked so much. Traveling relentlessly all over the Subcontinent, making the kings not to get into arrogance because of the power. Look after the subjects. There is peace - is needed. That is very important. You have to go to war only when all other avenues explored fail. When the other person becomes adamant. So, that's what - then the war comes to establish peace. Bhagavad Gita does not teach any violence at all. It teaches peace and happiness; achieve peace, consider about each other. That is very important. If a king is powerful and righteous, then he will look after the entire country, entire continent if he is powerful. So that's what then Krishna tells Gandhari, “It is all right. You have cursed me. If that is what has to happen, let it happen. Then in the end, Krishna tells Balarama, “Yadavas never considered me like a Guru, and never listened to my teachings at all. Throughout my life they wasted their time. They wanted wealth and they wanted power. They got it from me. And today, what is happening? Because they never meditated. They were never dharmic, they were never righteous, now they are arrogant, they are killing each other. Balarama O brother, before our own bodies are claimed by death, it is time we go out of Dwarka to the forest and meditate and achieve our own liberation. So, in His fag end of life He thoroughly practiced more, more, deeper, deeper, deeper meditation; He totally remained in nirvikalpa samadhi, Sri Krishna. Balarama also achieved that nirvikalpa samadhi and went into moksha, liberation. His body came to an end when there was a forest fire. And of course, you all know Sri Krishna was hit by an arrow, by a hunter who thought his legs to be a head of an animal. So, with excessive bleeding Sri Krishna’s body came to an end, and He was merged with the Self already.
Question: Thank You Babaji. So You said that Krishna spent many, many years teaching, traveling and teaching people. But at the end He gave up teaching, even to his own kin. Is that because they were no longer listening?
Babaji Maharaj: They were not listening. And His body had become old. See, as long as there is strength in our body, as long as there is somebody to listen, even on the Zoom or on the Skype, anywhere there is somebody who will listen to me, I'm happy to answer in the form of teachings that I received from my Master Shivbalayogi. Some of Swamiji’s devotees, sometimes they tried to make fun with sarcastic remarks and criticize me, “O Babaji today teaching Krishna teachings. He doesn't talk anything about Swamiji.” That’s stupidness. All these things Swamiji spoke to me, a lot about Mahabharata and Ramayana, His opinions, Sri Krishna teachings about His opinions. Sri Krishna was not simply a politician as people talk. That's what Swamiji told. He was not a womanizer. “He was a small young baby boy when He was playing in the Gokulam with his aunts”, Swamiji used to tell. “It is all myths and wrong stories have been written. He did great mission work. He was a great national asset, an asset of the Creation,” Swamiji told once. So, He used to explain. So all His philosophy, all these understandings, Swamiji told me. That's how we also learned in our life and tried to follow them.
Question: Thank You. And there's one last bit. It’s I think a quotation of Krishna which I love. “You have the right to action, but not to the fruits of those actions.” Is that Krishna’s teaching?
Babaji Maharaj: This is in Bhagavad Gita, this comes - His teachings. The great truth about karma yoga - by remaining in the world, in the active world, by taking actions means you act upon, you work, still you can achieve the yoga of your mind, is possible. For that you put an effort, means you do the karma. When you have a desire, when something you want to be fulfilled, and when you face that you have a duty, bound to do that one. Like you are a soldier, if your country's attacked, you have to defend your country, then do that action, never give up that action. That is important. Though in the society also - so in front of you, if somebody is being raped, you don't keep quiet as a silent watcher; you act upon. Like that Krishna taught, but whatever you want to achieve also, you work from that, remain focused, but when the result comes, that is not in your hand. If it is beyond your capacity, accept it. That acceptance is important, that is what you have to do - that one. So, then your mind will remain quiet and recede; that is the yoga. When you meditate, your mind can become quiet. So, when you are active in this world also, after you have acted, if the things have not happened according to your expectations, you have to accept it. It is beyond your capacity, then only your mind will become peaceful and quiet. He also told another word along with this sentence, “You will achieve peace only when you have sacrificed” – Tyagad shantira nantaram. Means, that means not that you had to sacrifice your body or your home or your kingdom or your country, nothing. Simply you have to sacrifice the ego of your mind. Whatever is bothering in your mind, stop that one. Don't bother too much. Whatever you can work you work. Just by bothering you cannot help yourself or you cannot help somebody. This world is suffering. People are misbehaving. Humanity is irresponsible often. If you can talk, talk, or if you can work, work, but don't simply worry in the mind. By worry you cannot help anybody. Keep yourself fit always. So that anytime anywhere you get a chance to give your opinion, you get a chance to inspire others. That's what Sri Krishna talked courageously always. He told Arjuna also, “If you want to kill Jayadrata, you should have just taken bows and arrows and kill. What was the need to announce with microphones boasting that you will do this, if you don't do you will do this. Now your attention has been divided; half of your attention is whether the sun has set; and half only is on your weapons and you are shooting the arrows. It is not as powerful as it should have been. Your inspiration is not good enough in this war. You must have - exercise that inspiration, you must know this one.” So, that also Sri Krishna taught. That's what is very important. Attention in the present can bring a better result and accept the results when it's beyond your capacity. That is karma yoga.
Same questioner: Thank You very much Babaji.
Question: Pranaam Babaji. Babaji, Thank You very much for being with us. You mentioned in the story about Sri Krishna earlier about vows. In a number of instances there are so many vows being mentioned by the Pandavas and Sri Krishna. What is the significance of these vows and some of the vows were good, some of the vows were bad. So, is there a good vow; is there a bad vow?
Babaji Maharaj: Such vows are actually not necessary which is born out of an arrogance or ego or just want to show the thing, “I will do this, I will do that one.” Any vow should be for a larger cause, for the welfare of the entire universe Lokah Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu. That is the one vow that Sri Krishna took in his life, not for anything else. That is what it is. The rest are all if you observe for personal glory only, which is not necessary. There is no good or bad; at least often it has been proved as a stupid vow.
Same questioner: Okay, Thank You Babaji.
Question: Pranaam Babaji. So Babaji my question is question is related to Krishna’s teaching. So like Krishna mentioned “yada yada hi dharmasya, glaanirbhavati bharata, …” So, if we see the current situation of this world, karma has already declined, and everyone has the nuclear weapon - they are threatening each other to destroy. So, is the Divine going to reincarnate again in this world or how …?
Babaji Maharaj: See Sri Krishna, while teaching Bhagavad Gita, in my opinion gave a hope of assurance. The same type of personality as a Sri Krishna who always taught the dharma, who thought of larger cause, such type of people from time to time are going to come. Like today also, definitely there is suffering or lot of human irresponsibility, wicked things, evil things keep happening. But there are still some people who advise dharma, but it is a different thing. A larger amount of people doesn't listen to them. From time to time a lot of yogis have come, saints have come in different parts of the world. That's what the sad part is, that humanity doesn't listen to them. So we are ready to talk these types of things - peace, harmony, consideration to each other, but how many are going to listen? You see, there are only - when we meditated about 130 were there. As we went into question and answer, some 25 disappeared; only we have 103 here. So how many will take out time to listen to these thing? How many will set a priority? No, we must listen to Babaji’s answers about Sri Krishna’s teaching and we must try to follow them. So, that is what it is. We are teaching freely. We don't charge any one of you anything. But yet people don't want to listen. But if I tell I will give you everything, I can give you a kingdom, hundred thousand people will come on the Zoom. So, they get cheated like that one. So, that is what the sadness is there. Here and there, in different parts of the world. Such dharam persons are coming. Also, another important thing - even if Sri Krishna comes, because they were Pandavas who finally listened to Krishna - that's why He could accomplish that mission. If there are some people who sacrifice. So, like that Swami Vivekananda said, “Give me such youth who can sacrifice themselves, fifteen to twenty youth then I will change the world and show you.” That's what is needed today also. If all of you meditate, then all of you might be able to inspire others in the world - will be possible; let us not lose hope. Let us always dream of good and work for that.
End of Questions and Answers
Babaji Maharaj now concludes the session.
May you be blessed.
End of Session