9. The Final Frontier
This chapter attempts to summarize the teachings in The Gita and attempts to answer some questions on the ‘Final Abode’ and the way to self realization. A discussion on supposedly different paths to redemption and the design of an optimal path for the seeker is indicated. The behavior, activities and responsibilities of redeemed souls are also addressed.
9.1 The Final Abode
Q: What is the definition of ‘Redemption’ (also known as salvation, deliverance, Nirvaana, Moksha etc)?
A: Redemption is defined as the casting off of what is not natural to the soul and remaining in its true nature for all eternity. The souls are in their intrinsic nature of pure intelligence and happiness. It is a state upon reaching which, the souls will not get entangled in bondage and will not have to return to the earth.
Q: How does a soul get entangled into the beginingless bondage in the first place?
A: This is one of the greatest spiritual mysteries. Just as the Lord relieves a soul of bondage, He also is the cause of the bondage. However, this should be viewed as a benevolent act where the Lord provides the tools, accessories, environment and capabilities for individual souls to engage in conduct over many births to achieve self realization and ultimately redemption.
Q: How can one relate to a state such as bondage which has no beginning but a well defined end?
A: The same way that most people relate to the state of Moksha/Nirvaana which has a specific, well defined start date but no end date (as it is an eternal state).
Q. How does one attain Nirvaana?
A: Through the express grace of the Lord. An example is Arjuna’s reply to Krishna at the end of the sermon that his doubts have been cleared by the ‘Grace of Krishna’ and not because he completely understood everything Krishna taught.
Q: What do liberated souls experience in the ‘Final Abode’?
A: The liberated souls have the following characteristics:
The souls are in their intrinsic nature of pure intelligence and happiness
These souls are constantly meditating on the Lord and are always under His control
These souls enjoy eternal bliss without any taint of unhappiness
They are not subject to aging
The souls have gradations in terms of amounts of bliss, happiness and devotion to the Lord
Such gradation does not lead to any jealousy, as absence of jealousy is a pre-requisite for liberation
These souls never return to the state of bondage
These souls while atomic in nature can take any material body of pure consciousness and cast them away at will
These souls experience no sadness, disease, disappointment or any other such defects
Q: Do the liberate souls have any obligation to perform any activity?
A: No. Just like the Lord they act out of pure choice and many times in order to set an example to souls still in bondage. It should also be noted that the liberated souls will not have contact with anyone in the physical world. Once a soul has been designated by the Lord for liberation, it is possible that the soul might have to spend some time in the physical world before moving to the Lord’s abode in order to expend any excess credits it might have accumulated due to good deeds performed over many life times. Such evolved souls typically expend such credits by bestowing spiritual favours to seekers in the physical world.
Q: It is stated that the liberated souls have gradation in terms of enjoyed bliss and other capabilities. How can that be?
A: Basically every individual soul is different and unique in terms of its capacity, ability etc. Each and every action performed by the soul in every life has consequences. The consequences are of 3 kinds:
Accumulated consequences from prior deeds (both good and bad)
That part of consequences from (a) that is in the process of being experienced by the soul
Consequences from acts not yet undertaken
Once a soul has reached the state of redemption, through the grace of the Lord all accumulated consequences from prior deeds will vanish (that is the soul does not have to face these consequences). However, the part of consequences from prior actions that is currently being experienced by the soul has to run its course. It turns out that consequences from prior good deeds are of two kinds: (i) beneficial consequences and (ii) worthless consequences. Of these, the first kind results in increased level of bliss and abilities in the Final Abode, while the second kind of consequence from prior good deeds has to be experienced by the soul before final redemption. The following example will illustrate the two kinds of consequences from prior good deeds. Suppose one contributes generously towards the education of two students. The first student makes use of the opportunity to get quality education, does well financially, remains grateful to the donor and helps others. The second student also does well financially but fritters away all his wealth on selfish, worldly activities. The donor will get credit for good deed in educating both these students. But the credit from first student will permanently accrue to the donor and increase his level of bliss and the credit from second student has to be spent before final redemption.
Q: It has been concluded that there are broadly two paths towards self realization based on the intrinsic nature of the practitioner, namely ‘the path of action’ and ‘the path of knowledge’. How do these practitioners traverse the path?
A: The practitioners in the path of action are those who have a naturally chosen vocation and strive for perfection in their activities in service of society and the Lord. These individuals typically are called ‘tyaagis’, meaning they do not seek any fruits from their labor. The prescribed method for them to achieve self realization and reach the Lord’s abode would be to conduct their activities with complete control of their mind and sense organs and offer all their activities to the Lord with no expectation on the outcome.
The other set of people who are predominantly in the ‘path of knowledge’ are those who have renunciated any activity that would normally result in worldly material. Examples of such people include ascetics, monks etc. They are typically characterized by the following attributes:
Intellect does not deliberate on objects on sensory pleasure
Steely determination in mind control
No desire in sensory pleasures
Devoid of jealousy, hatred, ego, conceit, arrogance, anger
Always at peace
Content with minimum food (for sustenance)
Always meditating on the Lord
Avoid crowded places and normally stay solitary
Detached from materialistic bonds
Do not hoard/store excess food, clothes
It must be noted that the classification of people as those on ‘path of action’ and ‘path of knowledge’ is coarse. No one can be fully in either path. Those in ‘path of action’ certainly need to have the right knowledge and those in the ‘path of knowledge’ certainly cannot avoid all activities. The classification is rather based on the attribute which is in majority.
Q: How do people immersed in activities leading to self realization and redemption, interact with the society at large?
A: Such a person does have a specific obligation to help others in society who is in need of help. He/She has an obligation to help those who may be sick or in need of spiritual guidance. This is indeed an obligation in the same way as someone pays taxes to the Government. However, those who have attained self realization do not have such obligations but often indulge in helping others out of pure compassion.
Q: The path of devotion is often indicated as the ultimate path for one to achieve salvation. How is this route characterized?
A: Achieving pure, unadulterated devotion to the Lord is very difficult. Those who are on this path are characterized by the following 4 attributes:
mind is completely focused on the supreme Lord
always devoted to the supreme Lord
always worshipping only the supreme Lord
always praying to the supreme Lord
Such people completely surrender to the Lord and avoid all activities extraneous to their naturally chosen vocation. They perform this with full devotion to the Lord as service to society without expecting any fruits. The Lord will surely reward them with eternal bliss.
In summary, everyone has to perform their naturally chosen activity to earn their place in the world and do so with right knowledge, with complete control of mind and sense organs, all the while submitting to the supreme Lord. This is the surest way to freedom from bondage of births and deaths and a place in the Lord’s abode.
Q: What are the different categories of people who meditate on the Lord and how are they different?
A: There are broadly 4 types of people who pray and meditate on the Lord:
Those who are sick and need relief
Those who desire material objects
Those who have a thirst for knowledge
Those who have already gained spiritual knowledge
Among these, the last category of beings are favored by the Lord as they do not have any specific needs but pray and meditate on the Lord out of pure devotion. Also for these people, the supreme Lord is their favorite always. All these four categories of people are superior; however, the last category will ultimately be guaranteed eternal bliss.
9.2 Summary of Various Paths to Redemption
Q: What are the various paths traversed by practitioners in their quest for self realization?
A: There are various paths available for practitioners of self realization in their journey towards beatitude.
The ‘path of action’ refers to that path where the person is solely focused on sincere discharging of responsibilities in his/her naturally chosen profession.
The ‘path of knowledge’ is the one where the practitioner focuses on accumulation (and dissemination) of knowledge (about the Lord, the universe etc).
The ‘path of devotion’ indicates the state where one completely submits to the Lord and spends time solely in prayer and on activities to please the Lord.
The ‘path of renunciation’ refers to the case where the practitioner has renunciated all worldly activities.
The ‘path of sacrifice’ refers to the case where one is focused on action with no expectation whatsoever on the outcome.
9.3 The Bottom Line
Q: Given that there are various paths available for one to choose in one’s journey towards the final abode, how can one decide on an optimal path?
A: The optimal and the correct path is one which is actually a combination of these various paths and is summarized as follows:
Those desiring permanent escape from the cycle of births and deaths and reaching the Lord’s abode focus on performing sincerely in their naturally chosen profession (‘path of action’), armed with proper knowledge of the activities (‘path of knowledge’), dedicating all activities to the Lord (‘path of devotion’), avoiding activities geared only towards worldly pleasures (‘path of renunciation’), with no expectation on the outcome of the activity (‘path of sacrifice’).
In summary, the optimal path is an integrated route comprised of these various paths. Depending on the nature of the practitioners, the relative magnitude of the paths may differ (for example, a scholar focuses more on the path of knowledge; a soldier focuses more on the path of prescribed activity such as administration etc).
While liberation from the cycle of births and deaths is the goal of any seeker and the optimal path will help achieve the goal, the level of bliss experienced in the final abode does vary depending upon the individual and the amount of effort spent on activities leading to salvation. In discussing the greatness of messages contained in the Gita, the Lord describes three categories of seekers:
Those who listen to the Gita as taught by a teacher, with utmost sincerity and devotion to the Lord;
Those that not only listen to the Gita, but also spend time and effort in further studies and investigations to develop deeper conviction; and
Those that not only learn the key concepts in the Gita, but also help spread the message so others in the society can also reap the benefits.
The Lord indicates that the third category of souls is most dear to Him, followed by the second and the first. However, all three categories are destined for eternal bliss with the relative level of bliss graded on the basis of relative efforts.
Q: What are the characteristics of people who are dear to the Lord?
A: It is important to recognize the characteristics of people who are considered dear to the Lord as they can be expected to be the recipients of His grace which leads to eternal bliss. In that sense, they set an example for everyone to follow:
They are compassionate people who brook no hatred towards anyone
They are devoid of selfishness and arrogance
They treat success and failure with equanimity and have enormous patience
They are always content with whatever God has given them
They have complete control over their sense organs and mind
They have a resolute mind and are always focused on the Lord
They are not perturbed by events in society, nor do they cause any commotion
They are devoid of anger, fear and do not experience the emotional roller coaster
They do not crave for worldly desires, avoid activities not related to the Lord, have a pleasant demeanor and are indifferent to any praise or insult
Q: What is the surest way for attaining eternal bliss?
A: Ultimately, the only sure way for someone to attain eternal bliss is to earn the grace of the Lord. The various paths described are the necessary conditions, but themselves are not sufficient to attain Nirvaana, which can only be reached through His grace. Those following the optimal path are dear to the Lord and hence it can be deduced that they will earn His grace and attain Him.
Q: Since it is important to earn the grace of the Lord to achieve redemption, what is the recommended procedure?
A: The surest way to earn the Lord’s grace is to completely immerse the mind in the Lord. If that is not possible, one can start by learning about the Lord from scriptures and slowly practice focusing the mind on the Lord. If this is also not possible, one can perform activities that are dear to the Lord such as giving to charity etc. If this option is also not possible, then one can focus on their normal activities but at least mentally dedicate them to the Lord. Over time, the sincere souls will realize ways to focus the mind fully in the Lord and earn His grace.
In general, scriptures detail the following steps in any journey towards redemption by Divine grace:
Detachment (ridding one of attachment to worldly affairs)
Devotion to the Lord
Study of scriptures
Reflection on studies
Meditation
Redemption through Divine grace
Detachment from worldly affairs is the first and foremost step for one on the path to redemption. As indicated many times before, one cannot stay away from discharging one’s worldly responsibilities, but one can ensure that one does not get carried away or get attached to work itself or expectations on outcome. Once the seeker of redemption is able to conquer attachment, that person develops more intimate devotion the Lord. At this stage, the seeker feels the urge to know more about the Lord and focuses on study of right scriptures under the guidance of competent teacher. The next step is reflection on studies done where one evaluates the matter studies using logical and philosophical examination to convince oneself of the truth embedded in the scriptures without any doubts or reservations. At this stage, the seeker has all the necessary tools to meditate consciously on the Lord which leads to redemption through the grace of the Lord accompanied by direct vision of the Lord.
9.4 Takeaways
The goal of every living being in every life is to utilize the opportunity provided by the Lord and achieve self realization (or eternal bliss or Nirvaana), where one experience pure bliss and will escape permanently from the cycle of births and deaths
While Gita teaches the various yogas or paths for a seeker to pursue, the optimal path comprises of all these paths such as ‘path of labor’, ‘path of knowledge’, ‘path of devotion’ etc.
Final redemption can only happen through the grace of the Lord and the stages to achieve this are – worldly detachment, devotion to the Lord, study of scriptures, reflection on the studies to develop conscious meditation on the Lord and finally redemption.