The Perfect Man and Free Will
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E.P. Hafstein
The Bhagavad Gita – the Religious Poem and its Moral Message
The Bhagavad Gita, Section II, Verses 54-72
Bhagavad Gita, Section XI, Verses 32-34
The Bhagavad Gita and Free Will
References
In this article, I refer to two parts of the Bhagavad Gita.[1] These two parts contain the core of the poem’s message, which I attempt to illustrate. In the second part of the article, I discuss the message of the Bhagavad Gita.
The Bhagavad Gita – the Religious Poem and its Moral Message
The Bhagavad Gita is a religious poem and a work of spiritual philosophy. The Mahabharata (The Great Bharata) incorporates it in a large poetic cycle. It tells of the struggle between two branches of the same clan, the powerful Bharata clan. One branch is called the Kuravas, and the other is called the Pandavas. Arjuna is one of the leaders of the Pandavas. His charioteer is named Krishna. When Arjuna faces his relatives, the Kuravas, he is overcome by despair. He throws down his weapons and refuses to fight. Then Krishna takes the initiative and starts to persuade him. The Bhagavad Gita takes the form of a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna. The center of Krishna’s encouragement of Arjuna is based on a particular moral viewpoint. This moral viewpoint, or moral teaching, is called dharma, or the theory of duty in life. It has been best expressed: “Do your duty without fear of the consequences.” Those acts of duty performed without thought of the results do not shackle the individual or create new karma. Irrespective of our social standing and position on the path of development, we must all observe our dharma and duties in life and towards life. We will succeed if we observe our duties with joy and peace in our minds. This moral teaching pervades the Bhagavad Gita from beginning to end.
There has been a great deal of controversy as to how to read the Bhagavad Gita. Some commentators believe the events it describes are realistic and actually happened. Others say it should be interpreted symbolically. For the latter group, Krishna is a symbol of God, and Arjuna is a symbol of the human soul. The warriors who are named are seen as human inclinations and instincts. God urges the soul to attack some of them because they intend to oppress the soul, even though they were previously its companions, gave it knowledge and experience, and made it wiser. The battlefield is life itself, and it is here that the soul must fight. God urges the soul to fight. If it refuses to fight, it is abandoning its duty or dharma, and misfortune will result. If, on the other hand, it fights, it faces no danger. Victory is certain. God himself has slain all its enemies, even though they are not slain! There is no escape for the evil desires and inclinations which fight against the soul. Development runs its course.
The Bhagavad Gita, Section II, Verses 54-72
Arjuna said:
II,54: What are the characteristics of the man with this wisdom, Krishna? How does he speak? How does he sit and walk?
The second section of the Bhagavad Gita[2] deals with the teachings of Samkhya and Yoga, two of Hinduism’s six philosophical teachings or schools. In the course of evolution, when man nears his final goal, he is entrusted with more and more wisdom, which is the possession of the few who have traveled the path before him. Krishna describes to Arjuna, the man who has reached the end of the path:
Then the glorious lord spoke:
II,55: The man, Arjuna, who bids farewell to all the desires of the mind and finds satisfaction in his spirit for its own sake, is said to stand in the hall of wisdom.
In the latter part of man’s development, he follows two paths. The first is the path of probation. The second is the path of holiness or initiation. It is said that he is in the hall of learning when he stands on the path of probation. On the path of initiation, he has stood face to face with his soul and been born into the fifth kingdom of nature, or the kingdom of God. At this point, he has moved from the hall of learning to the hall of wisdom.
II,56: That man is called wise, who in joy and sorrow is free of passions, fear, and anger, and has a constant mind.
No matter what happens in a man’s life to bring him joy or sorrow, anger, fear, and passions do not affect the wise man. If these feelings touch him, he dismisses them with love and looks inward to the source of life within him.
II,57: The man who has no desires and neither rejoices nor is repelled by the good or the bad, his wisdom is constant.
The personality of man is like flowers: They bloom and die. There is no need to praise the former or condemn the latter. We must accept whatever happens without sorrow and pain.
II,58: He who can withdraw his senses from the objects of sense, like a tortoise, draws its legs into its shell. His wisdom is constant.
It should be as simple for the wise man not to focus on his sensations as for the tortoise to withdraw its legs if it experiences interference.
II,59: Sensations depart from the incarnate soul as soon as it rejects them, but attachment to
the objects of sense does not. But if it has perceived the Supreme, then attachment also departs.
Here, the difference lies in “outer” and “inner” wisdom. Faith does not consist of kneeling before an altar or praising God. True faith is conviction. We can deny our sensations, but the longing for the objects of sense remains. Awareness and sentence of the inner reality result in the disappearance of attachment to the objects of the senses.
II,60: Even though the wise man strives, Arjuna, and sees the goal clearly, the senses take his mind by force.
II,61: The man who has succeeded in gaining control of all his senses and desires only me; his wisdom is constant.
Control of the senses requires concentration of the whole personality. Control of the emotional and mental bodies is the prerequisite for complete control of the senses. However, self-discipline does not in itself constitute knowledge. Self-discipline can be traced to will and emotions. Self-discipline is simple when a man’s consciousness is directed towards the Supreme.
II,62: The man who constantly thinks about the objects of his sense reaps the harvest of attachment; desire arises from attachment and gives rise to anger.
Desire can be as irresistible as the most potent external force. Desires can raise us to heights or cast us into the darkest depths. In the Bhagavad Gita, III, 37. the two enemies, desire and anger, are discussed.
II,63: Delusion arises from anger, and a confused memory results from delusion. A confused memory leads to the destruction of insight, which results in destruction.
There are many aspects to the destruction of insight: For example, to discriminate between right and wrong, or good and evil, is a delusion. When a person is overcome by desire, the result is confused memory and the loss of insight. When this happens, he loses contact with his inner self. This does not mean he should withdraw from contact with the world or shut out his sensations. To hate one’s senses because of their sensations is as incorrect as to love them. Guided from within, the mind ought to control the senses.
II,64: The man who has disciplined himself and is directed by his soul can go his way among the objects of sense. His senses do not discriminate between hatred and desire, and he enters into a state of peace.
When contact with the soul has been established, objects and occurrences around the individual do not affect him. He accepts things as they present themselves, free of despair or upset feelings. He wishes for nothing and envies no one. He has no desires and makes no demands.
II,65: In this peace, all the suffering he has experienced departs from him because his consciousness is soon apparent, and his insight is constant.
The man who has established contact with his soul and submits to its control achieves a clear consciousness and a constant flow from the soul’s insight.
II,66: For the man without control, there is no insight. He is unable to concentrate his mind, and without concentration, there is no peace of mind. How can a man without peace attain happiness?
Peace of mind is the foundation of happiness.
II,67: When the mind submits to the control of the transient senses, wisdom departs like a boat driven before the winds.
Wisdom cannot become firmly established unless there is peace of mind.
II,68: For this reason, Arjuna, who keeps all his senses away from the objects of sense, attains constant wisdom.
Stress is constantly placed in the control of the senses.
II,69: For all beings, it is considered a day; it is the night of ignorance for the wise, and what all creatures see as night is the day for the wise man.
When the delusory images of the senses attract all other creatures, the wise man concentrates on understanding reality. He is awake towards his inner reality, while the foolish man is asleep or indifferent. The life of opposites is the day of the unenlightened man, while for the wise man, it is night.
II,70: The man who can let all desires flow through his mind without disturbing his peace, like an ocean into which all rivers flow without it becoming disturbed, has found peace, but not the man who clings to his desires.
II,71: The man who has rejected all desires is humble, selfless, and free of longing. He enters into a state of peace.
II,72: This is the condition of the Eternal, Arjuna. No one who attains it is bewildered. He who attains this condition, even at the moment of his death, enters into Nirvana.
In Buddhism, Nirvana is perfection, the condition of the Eternal. The Dhammapada, one of the Buddhist scriptures, states: “Health is the greatest of gifts, contentment is the greatest wealth; trust is the best of relationships. Nirvana is the highest happiness.”[3]
The expansion of consciousness is the main aim of man’s inner evolution. Nevertheless, it does not only consist of prayer or work free of desires. Even though the wise man is at one with his soul and free of the world’s distractions, his life is dedicated to constant service.
Bhagavad Gita, Section XI, Verses 32-34
In Section XI of the Bhagavad Gita, the author sounds a new note. Here, it is suggested that all events have taken place before. Krishna says they are born in his mind and known in advance.
XI,32: I am time, the destroyer of worlds. My work consists of destroying them. Even without you, these warriors who stand in the ranks of your enemies would lose their lives.
The creator is presented as time, and his creations, which are a part of him, are the form he takes on temporarily. Thus, he is presented as both creator and destroyer. Here, the creator is entirely responsible for his creation and everything it contains, whether life and creativity or death and destruction. The creator has control over time because he stands outside time. Krishna sees further than we do and knows that all external events are subject to control. He tells Arjuna that various causes that have been active inwardly for years and which we cannot influence appear as effects on the earthly plane. The death of Arjuna’s enemies is an irrevocable event which has taken place long ago. Impersonal forces, which we call Providence, are at work here; they are universal forces, part of God’s will, and subject to the control of His inscrutable purpose. All struggle by the individual against these forces is futile.
XI,33: Rise and earn glory. Overcome your enemies and enjoy unrestricted authority. I alone have already slain them. Become my instrument, Arjuna.
God’s will is active, and Arjuna is the instrument he has chosen to implement his will in the great course of evolution. Arjuna deludes himself if he believes he must act according to his will and judgment. No one can contravene the will of God. By refusing to fight, Arjuna takes a direction against the path already laid out. The decision is irrevocable, and there is nothing that Arjuna can do about it. He is merely an instrument, without a will, in the hands of God. Arjuna’s difficulty is reconciling himself, both in his mind and heart, with the fact that he must submit to God’s will. When Arjuna understands that all his personality, i.e., his mind, emotions, and body, form one entity under the soul’s control in carrying out God’s will, the battle is won. God has a particular plan for humanity, and in the course of carrying it out, we humans are used as instruments by higher powers. They know God’s will regarding the evolution of humanity, and their role is to lead man, step by step, along the development path.
Even though we, in our personalities, do not realize this, the soul is aware of it. It knows the
most direct path to the object, and it takes this path. The soul’s striving to follow this path frequently results in the personality suffering. The illusion lies in our perceiving the world and external events with the senses of the personality, this outer covering that makes every effort to cast shadows on the path and conceal it from the sight of the soul. The Bhagavad Gita points out how to throw off the shadows of the senses of the personality and bask in the soul’s light. Everything becomes illuminated in this light.
XI,34: Slay Dorna, Bhisma, Jayadratha, Karna, and the other mighty warriors. I have already slain them. Be unafraid; you will overcome your enemies in this battle.
The future is known, and nothing, not even the fall of a sparrow, escapes God’s attention.
The Bhagavad Gita and Free Will
These few verses of the Bhagavad Gita deal with two fundamental assertions: firstly, that all events in the human world are determined and carried out before they actually seem to happen, and secondly, that we are to discipline and control our minds and emotions so that the events of the moment do not affect us. On this basis, it is easy to conclude that we cannot control or influence the course of events on the earthly plane, but we can influence and control our minds and emotions. How, then, does free will enter into the picture? Firstly, we must understand that the individual’s personality is threefold, composed of three layers of material of differing density. The heaviest and densest part is the rupa, matter, and form; this is the physical body. The second is composed of lighter material than the first and is the seat of our attachments and desires. It is called kama-rupa, the form of desires, the emotional body. The third component of our personality is composed of the lightest material: the manas (lower manas), the lower concrete mind, or the lower mental body. It is the seat of logical thought.
According to the Bhagavad Gita, all external events in life (i.e., all events that belong to the physical plane and are carried out by the physical body) are not free. Only the will that belongs to man’s lower mental body (i.e., his thoughts) and his emotional body (i.e., his emotions) is free. As we cannot govern the actions of the physical body, we should not concern ourselves with them. We ought to concentrate our energies on actions subject to our free will and that we can control. The message of the Bhagavad Gita is that equilibrium is achieved in the personality when the mind and the emotions are directed towards adapting to the events that occur in our lives. At the same time, our minds and hearts should constantly be directed toward the divine. With increased equilibrium, the soul gains greater control over the personality, which consciously becomes its instrument and the instrument of the higher powers. In light of these considerations, the message of the Bhagavad Gita in the verses quoted above may become more apparent.
When the stage of evolution is reached where the soul controls the personality, a new departure is made in the individual’s life. He is surrounded by the knowledge that he is a soul and that his personality is its projection in the three worlds of human evolution. The secret of the wheel of karma is revealed to him, and his consciousness is directed towards one aim: throwing off the shackles of cause and effect. The method indicated by the Bhagavad Gita produces the desired result. The individual’s free will on the emotional and mental planes, i.e., his thoughts and emotions concerning what happens unavoidably on the physical plane, is crucial. If free will is employed against the events that occur, the individual chains himself to the wheel of karma. The solution consists of directing the threefold personality in the same direction. Or, in the words of Krishna: “The man who has rejected all desires is free of longing and is humble and selfless. He enters into a state of peace.”[4]
Therefore, the aspirant’s goal is threefold: Firstly, he must become aware of his nature as a soul. He must understand that he is a soul and that the soul controls external events. The soul is a warrior and knows the shortest path to the Heavenly Father. The personality is short-lived yet has its uses as an actor in the grand spectacle. In battle, it stands beside the warrior, taking his commands and obeying them.[5] Secondly, the individual must remember that the emotions of the emotional body are of great importance in preparing for subsequent incarnations. Though not silencing or suppressing emotions, we must discipline the emotional body. The correct method is gradually to allow more positive emotions to flow through the emotional body and to drive out the negative and confusing feelings, which are the characteristic of far too many people today. A noble and beautifully colored emotional body should be our aim. Thirdly, the same applies to the mental and emotional bodies. The thoughts generated by the individual are critical. Noble and positive thoughts drive out undesirable thoughts and pave the way for the future. A suitable method of training the mind is to “examine” the ideas in one’s mind, give them a moment’s attention, and think about why they arose. Then, they can be dismissed.
The moment comes when the soul’s control of the personality is so strong that it makes itself known to the personality in one way or another. Awareness of the existence of the soul forces its way into the brain. This moment has been examined in various writings on occultism. Light on the Path, for example, says that “the flower of the soul has opened.”[6] Faith no longer exists as such; it has become a fact, a certainty. The time of saying “I believe” is past; instead, the individual says: “I know.” “You dwelt long in the hall of learning; now you have gained admission to the hall of wisdom.” The first stage of occult initiation is now past, and birth into the fifth kingdom of nature, the kingdom of God, has taken place.
When certainty has been attained, the soul’s control of the personality grows steadily. Gradually, the brain is prepared. Gradually, wisdom/love flows from the soul to the personality, and it experiences things that it never imagined existed. It comes to know many of the personalities which constitute the soul. In other words, it shares in the experience the soul has received through the ages. The personality is reminded clearly that it is only one of the soul’s many personalities and that, as such, it is only the active instrument of the soul during this incarnation. It is impermanent, and it had better obey! The wrappings of delusion are stripped away, and guidance is given with love. Another thing also happens. The veil is partly lifted from the future, and the role of the soul, in the form of the personality during the present incarnation, is revealed. From this moment, the personality is dedicated to the soul’s will, and in humility and gratitude, it receives the soul’s instructions and carries them out. It does so not only because they are its dharma, which it must carry out without fail, but also because the whole personality – mind, heart, and hand – takes part in this work wholeheartedly. It has found its path and follows it with love toward all living things.
There are beings on the inner planes that assist with man’s evolution. Their role (since all beings have a role to play in evolution) consists partly of helping develop the mental and emotional bodies of those who are incarnate. They are known as our helpers and generally appear to us in the form of deceased relatives. Admittedly, the ordinary person is not aware of them, but those who are sensitive and have second sight testify to the existence of these beings. Their role involves helping us align our thoughts and feelings with the actual events of the moment, i.e., those events determined in advance and which the soul controls.
Many methods are used to provide this assistance. The most important consists of words of encouragement and a flow of love towards the troubled personality since love is the basis of our solar system. Help is also given by showing us glimpses of our future, i.e., from the annals of Akasa. These glimpses are specially chosen to reassure us, strengthen us, and reduce negative flows of thoughts and emotions. Simply put, the annals of Akasa are a directory of man’s past, present, and future evolution. They are God’s creation and are also the enactment of that creation. They are the word, the tone, and the creative link between life and form. They are known because they came into being through meditation and are maintained in the resonance of the sacred word. In the fullness of time, when the soul has gained total control of the personality, we will be given our rightful property, the power of creation. The annals of Akasa are a “dress rehearsal” of God’s great work, which we call creation and originated in his mind. The first performance is the enactment of God’s creation on the physical plane. Our delusion consists of our confusing cause and effect, the dress rehearsal, and the first performance, reality, and illusion, so raising the personality to a position of respect, casting the inner God from his throne and instead crowning the personality and worshipping it as a god. The delusion is so complete that we do not perceive this simple truth. While delusion holds sway, suffering will always exist. This is the suffering of the emotional body, emotional turmoil, and suffering in the mental body, i.e., despair. Physical suffering, i.e., the suffering of the physical body, is the consequence of despair and emotional turmoil in one way or another, with its causes either in this incarnation or in previous ones.
It is stated above that beings on the inner planes help with the development of the emotional and mental bodies of the personality. There are also beings on the inner planes which play other roles. One of their fields of activity is the higher mental plane (the upper manas), and their role includes directing, assisting, and working with the soul on the tasks that the soul undertook during its present incarnation. Examples are teaching concerning spiritual values, healing, the work of mediums, etc. For this to be possible, the soul must have traveled sufficiently far along the path of return to be called an “accepted disciple.” To be an accepted disciple is to have attained the state of consciousness of being under the direction of an Adept and his assistants on the inner planes. A group of souls of this type is marked by their having joined together, under the direction of an Adept, to work at particular tasks. The beings in such a group may be incarnate or not incarnate. To avoid misunderstanding, it should be stated that this does not refer to a group as we understand the word. It refers to a state of consciousness. The linking of the group of souls occurs in the consciousness of the beings within the group. The personality of each soul within the group is informed of the plan of the group and its role within the plan. Such conviction or such a message makes the person who experiences it abandon everything that is dearest to him in the world of the personality, gladly and with the understanding and conviction of a soul that dedicates all its efforts to the service of its fellows and its evolution.
References
1 Bhagavad Gita. Author unknown.
2 Bhagavad Gita, II, 1-72. Author unknown.
3 Dhammapada, XV, 8. Author unknown. Transl. S. Radhakrishnan. Oxford University Press, London 1950.
4 Bhagavad Gita, II, 71. Author unknown.
5 Collins, M. 1976: Light on the Path, II, 1-4. California Theosophical University Press. (1st edition 1888).
6 Collins, M. 1976: Light on the Path, I, 21. California Theosophical University Press. (1st edition 1888).