His Holiness Sudhanshu Ji Maharaj

Knowledge is a Divine Gift to have Self-Control

Lord Shri Krishna was indeed the Greatest Guru – the Guru of all the Gurus. Like all great men, His life was
dedicated to helping man fathom the sacred realm of Supreme Knowledge. The Bhagavad Gita is His greatest message and mission to deliver us the knowledge that we all strive to seek. “In the Gita we hear the distant sound of the conflict of sects, and Lord Krishna mediates to instill harmony; He, the great teacher of harmony, Lord Krishna,” said Swami Vivekananda. “The glory of Sri Krishna is that He has been the best preacher of our Santana Dharma and the best commentator on the Vedanta that ever lived in India”.

Knowledge for Self-Control

Knowledge is: “Humility, unostentatiousness, harmlessness, forbearance, uprightness, service to Guru, purity, steadiness and self-control – all this is called knowledge.” Without knowledge man is like an animal. An ignorant person cannot distinguish between good and bad, pure and impure, and faithfulness and unfaithfulness. There should be curiosity and strong desire to know – and this encourages us to acquire knowledge. One should, however, be qualified to receive and acquire knowledge. “Blessed are the pure in heart, as to them is given the knowledge of God… Blessed is human birth; even the dwellers in heaven desire this birth; for true knowledge and pure love may be
attained only by a human being.”

It is neither free nor easy to acquire knowledge. There has to be a determination in the first place to acquire knowledge. It is expensive and its price is to ignite the urge to know. “Acquire that knowledge through inquiry and humble service to the Guru, needy and to all the creations of God, and even to oneself. It is the Guru through
whom the passage leads to the kingdom of God.

Knowledge is acquired through devotion, deep trust in the Guru and God, being kind, compassionate, and by surrendering oneself at the feet of the Guru who is knowledgeable, kind, considerate and who is willing to accept the seeker. It is the Guru who has the power and patience to impart knowledge. To be knowledgeable means getting closer to God. Knowledge dispels ignorance. It enlightens the seeker and leads him to be kind and move towards the ultimate objective – seeking God and getting His blessings.

Performance of Duty

Lord Shri Krishna has stressed on the performance of duty [this is what He tried to explain to Arjuna]. On Performance of One’s Duties: “Sacrifice, charity, penance, study and teaching, giving religious discourses, warfare, governance of the people, rearing of cattle, agriculture, trade service, eating and drinking and all other duties that have been enjoined by the shastras [scriptures] as binding on a particular man with due regard to his grade in society, stages in life, temperament and circumstances, are ‘Nitya Karma’ for him. He who actually gives up these duties fails to discharge his obligations and thereby incurs sin; for such neglect of duty causes a break in the continuity of action and brings about chaos in the whole world. Hence it is not advisable to abandon one’s allotted duties”.

The Lord’s descent on earth takes place in order to establish the rule of righteousness in society. Therefore, it can never be possible for Him, at any time, to neglect the performance of, or cease to perform any duty with all its limbs with sufficient vigilance and care. In other words, being the Creator, Destroyer and Controller of the entire universe and being the Ideal Person for laying down propriety of conduct, if He ever neglected His duty a great disorganization would set in the world-process. “He who, abandoning his duties, hinders the operation of the wheel of creation, leads a sinful life and lives in vain. A wise man should in no way deter men from the performance of their duty by renouncing action himself or by instructing men to do so, but should perform duties himself and get others to do the same”.