Namaste.
In this Bhagavad Gita series talk,
I wanted to speak about experiencing the divine in our lives.
The spiritual path is a combination of both knowledge and experience.
Knowledge in terms of reading scriptures,
Listening to talks,
Allow the mind to grasp onto something.
It convinces the mind to follow a certain spiritual path,
To do certain meditations,
To take part in certain practices.
So knowledge is important.
It also grounds us in our practices.
It doesn't allow us to fly or to fantasize about what the spiritual path is.
But ultimately knowledge should also be combined with experience.
Because book knowledge can only take you to the edge of understanding what lies beyond this reality.
But it cannot give you that experience.
And the spiritual path and the practices that we do,
The meditations that we do are designed to give us an experience that lies beyond the understanding of the mind.
Because ultimately the journey is from the mind to the heart.
But when you're in that space of the heart,
You experience the divine,
You experience your true self in a way that the mind cannot understand or describe it.
In the Bhagavad Gita,
Chapter 2 verse 29,
Sri Krishna says,
One person sees the self as a wonder,
Likewise another hears of it as a wonder,
Yet another speaks of it as a wonder.
But even after hearing of it,
Even after speaking of it,
No one can truly understand it.
So here Krishna is saying that we might see or try and understand the divine through our senses.
But the senses are not sufficient to realize the true nature of the self.
We have to rise above the senses.
We have to rise above the material world.
Sri Krishna also says that the self cannot be cut,
It cannot be burned,
It cannot be dried,
And it cannot be wetted.
It is eternal,
All-pervading,
Fixed,
Immovable,
And everlasting.
So once again,
He's saying,
Look,
It cannot be burned,
It cannot be cut,
It cannot be dried,
It cannot be wetted.
So he's using the elements,
Once again reminding us that the self lies beyond the five elements that make up this world.
So the self lies beyond the senses and it lies beyond the five elements,
And therefore also lies beyond the mind.
So if you're walking the spiritual path sincerely,
You must have a combination of not only the knowledge,
But also a practice that you can do on a regular basis.
Some type of meditation,
Whether it's a breathing exercise,
Whether it's visualization,
Whether it's mantra chanting,
Something to give you the experience of the divine.
And in that state,
You will truly find peace and joy in your life.
You see,
The divine is like if you take a cup and you mix salt with the water in the cup.
Once the salt is mixed,
You're not able to see that the cup or the water has salt in it.
Only by drinking it will you have the experience that it has salt.
And even if you remove half the water,
Even if you leave 10 drops,
Even if you leave just one drop of water in that cup,
It will still be salty.
In the same way,
When you've experienced the divine in your life,
You've tasted that salt,
You understand that everything in this world is only the divine.
Everything comes from the divine and everything is made up of the divine.
So seek to have an experience and ground it with knowledge.
When you're able to combine the two,
Then you could have a very meaningful spiritual practice that you can live daily for the rest of your life.
So with that,
Much love,
Take care.
