YOGA OF THE SOVEREIGN SCIENCE AND SOVEREIGN SECRET – RAJA VIDYA RAJA GUHYA YOGA
By
Dr. R. J. Kalpana Ph.D
Visvaayudha June 2025
vasudevasutaḿ devaḿ kaḿsa-cāṇūra-mardanam
devakī-paramānandaḿ kṛṣṇaḿ vande jagadgurum
I bow down to Sri Krishna, who is the Master of the Universe, beloved son of Vasudeva, who vanquished Kamsa and Chanura, who brings immense joy to his mother, Devaki.
Pranams from Dr. R J Kalpana, Welcome to the study of The Bhagavad Gita.
In the previous chapter on the Yoga of Eternal Truth, we became conversant with the method that takes us to Self-Realisation and to the world of Brahma. We were also blessed with the truth of the two paths available to Yogis and self-realised souls to reach the world of Brahma.
In this chapter Shri Krishna reveals to us the supreme science and the supreme secret of Yoga. Shri Krishna categorically addresses Arjuna as being devoid of a complaining and critical nature and calls it the carping spirit. Since Arjuna is ever eager for knowledge and has displayed proper etiquette to receive the knowledge given by Shri Krishna, the teacher is inspired to teach the student.
Shri Krishna thus tells that now I will reveal to you the means by which you may free yourself from this worldly existence. I shall now divulge the secret knowledge of the Unmanifested Reality – Nirguna Brahma and the Manifested Divinity – Saguna Brahma. This knowledge that contains aspects of Divinity is therefore, supremely sacred, very easy to practice for virtuous people and it is imperishable. For those people who lack faith in Dharma, merely end up revolving in the path of death.
The entire universe is permeated by the Divine as Unmanifested Reality and all beings rest on the idea of the Divine. Just like the dreamer might dream of objects but has no connection to the objects in the dream. The dreamer then existed before the dream, exists during the dream and will exist long after the dream has ended.
Shri Krishna states that His Divine Yogic power is such that although He is the creator and sustainer of all things and yet, he doesn’t dwell in them. Just as a cloud both does and does not exist in the atmosphere, even so the world exists and does not exist in Him. This theme is further clarified by the metaphor of air emerging from either, existing in ether and finally disappearing in ether. And yet, ether has no connection whatsoever with air and its movements. Therefore, the emanation, existence and dissolution of beings that take place in the thought-field of the Divine and yet, the Divine is entirely beyond these beings and is immune to change and hence is immutable.
When the time for dissolution arrives, the Divine withdraws the material universe and all sentient and insentients into itself and when the time of creation arrives, according to their respective samskaras, the multitude of beings are brought forth again and again. And yet, the action does not bind the Divine for it is at its instruction that Nature brings forth the wheel creation.
And yet, ignorant people merely consider Shri Krishna as a human being with all the attendant frailties forgetting that Shri Krishna is the Overlord of the entire universe. Such ignorant people embrace a fiendish nature always selfish and self centered.
On the contrary, the great souls who have understood the Divine nature and understand that Shri Krishna is the prime source of all lives and so they constantly worship the imperishable, eternal one by chanting the myriad names, through meditation and all done with single-minded devotion.
Followers of the path of Knowledge worship the Unmanifested Reality while others worship the Manifested Divinity as Saguna Brahma and in the various incarnations. For the Vedic ritual, the sacrifices, the offering to the departed, the herbs and grains, the sacred formula, the clarified butter, the sacred fire and even the very act of offering oblations to the fire is the Divine.
Those who follow the path of Knowledge jnanayogis, worship the Unmanifested Reality the formless aspect of the Absolute by the dint of their knowledge. Others worship Shri Krishna in His universal form and still others in the various manifestations of celestial forms.
In order to give us greater clarity in this matter, Shri Krishna proceeds to establish that the whole universe and what lies beyond it, is nothing but the Divine. So He says that all ritual acts of the Vedas, the yajna, the offering to the departed souls shraddha, the herbs and the grains, the sacred formula, the mantras, the fire, the act of offering oblations into fire is all none other than the Divine.
The ruler of the universe, the father, the mother, the only one worth knowing, the purifier, the sacred syllable OM and the three Vedas is none other than the manifestations of the Divine. I am the real goal of human life, the supporter, the witness, the origin and end of creation, the place where all sentient and insentient return to and the imperishable seed of creation is all the Divine.
The process of heating the world through the sun and withholding the sun’s radiance so the process of rain showers occur is the Divine as well as death and immortality, being and non-being. Therefore, even the gods realize this and worship only the Absolute.
Now, those who perform Vedic yajnas with interested motives and are cleansed of their impurities they attain Indraloka and enjoy the pleasures of their good samskaras. Once the stock of their good merits is over, they are reborn again.
Those who are Vedic ritual performers and who seek the pleasures of this world repeatedly ascend to heaven by means of their virtue and are reborn again when the stock of good samskaras are finished.
The other kind of devotee who remain in constant remembrance of Shri Krishna and worship Him without seeking awards and material pleasures, Shri Krishna promises that they will be safeguarded and their needs will be met. The responsibility of the devotee is taken over by the Divine Himself. The devotee is blessed indeed for they ‘have no thought for the morrow for a higher power has taken thought for them.’
People who worship other deities remain in ignorance that ultimately they are still worshiping Shri Krishna, although using a wrong approach. For Shri Krishna is the lord of yajna and those who do not realize that are doomed to return to earth again and again.
Sloka 25 is a very important sloka in that it reveals to us the extent of our reach for Shri Krishna says that your reach is only to that to which you dedicate yourself. Like a child in kindergarten cannot aspire to a university degree, similarly if you worship the gods then your reach is only till the gods who themselves worship Shri Krishna. If you worship the manes and the spirits then your reach is till them only but those who worship Shri Krishna reach Him and are liberated from the cycle of birth and death.
A puja that is made with the offering of a fruit, a flower, a leaf or just plain water, an offering with love and untainted by materialistic greed and that offering is accepted by Shri Krishna. Our Puranas are peopled with examples of such simple and pure devotion such as Sabari, Sudama, Gajendra.
Therefore, whatever we do, whatever we eat, whatever we offer in the sacred fire and whatever we bestow as a gift or by penance, we offer it to the Divine first. Then the mind gets established in the act of renunciation by offering everything to the Divine so we can be freed from the karmic bonds and samskaras and then merge with the Divine.
Shri Krishna goes on to say in Sloka 29 so beautifully that the Divine is present equally in all beings and yet, He reveals Himself only to those who worship with devotion. Even the vilest sinner worships the Divine, he stands a chance of redemption for he offered the path of dharma and none who walk on the path of dharma can have a fall.
Even those who are into manual physical labour and the days are filled with looking after their families like women, the artisans, the farmers, if they but take refuge in Shri Krishna, they too can attain the supreme goal.
Then think that these who hardly have time to devote themselves to the Divine, how much blessed are the Brahmins and the sages who have an entire lifetime devoted to the Divine. Therefore, Shri Krishna advises us on the methodology to be adopted by fixing our mind on Him, devoted to Him, by constant remembrance of Him and by being dependent on Him, we shall attain Him.
yogeśaṁ(m) saccidānandaṁ(v̐), vāsudevaṁ(v̐) vrajapriyam,
dharmasaṁsthāpakaṁ(v̐) vīraṁ(ṅ), kṛṣṇaṁ(v̐) vande jagadgurum
I bow to the Master of Yoga, who is the beloved son of Vasudeva, the brave warrior who established Dharma, the spiritual guru of the world.
OM ŚRĪKṚṢṆĀRPAṆAMASTU
Note: The talks can be accessed on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@kalpanarj3101