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Chapter 9
THE SOVEREIGN SCIENCE OF SERVICE TO HUMANITY: YOGA OF SURRENDER
41. Knowledge Through Direct Experience
1.Brothers, I have a sore throat today and I doubt whether my voice could reach you. I am reminded here of an anecdote from the life of Peshwa Madhavrao. That saintly man was on his death-bed. He was acutely suffering from tuberculosis. His lungs were full of phlegm. It is said that phlegm can be converted into dysentery. Madhavrao told his physician, “Please convert my phlegm into dysentery, so that I could take the Name of the Lord.” I too was praying to God today and He told me to speak as much as the throat permits. My intention in delivering these talks on the Gita is not to preach to anyone, although those who want to profit from them may surely do so. When I talk on the Gita, I do so to have the Lord’s Name on my lips. 2. What I am telling here has connection with the Ninth Chapter. This Chapter tells about the wonderful greatness of the Lord’s Name. It is at the centre of the Gita, which itself is at the centre of the Mahabharata. For many reasons, this Chapter is considered particularly holy. It is said that when Jnanadeva bid farewell to the world and entered into samadhi,[1] he was reciting this Chapter. Whenever I think of this Chapter, tears well up in my eyes and my heart dances with divine joy. How great is this gift that Vyasa has given to us! Not only India but all of mankind is indebted to Vyasa for this gift. In fact, what the Lord told Arjuna was not something that could be expressed in words; but Vyasa, moved by compassion, put it into Sanskrit verse. He revealed the secret wisdom through the medium of words.
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References and Context
- ↑ Saints and sages used to voluntarily end their life when they thought that they had accomplished what they should have. They would then concentrate all their energies and merge into the Absolute, ending worldly existence. This is called samadhi. This is the sense in which the word is used here.