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The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran

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╭ introduction

Those who disidentify themselves with the conditions of

perception in maya wake up into a higher mode of knowing in

which the unity of life is apprehended directly. The disciplines

for achieving this are called yoga, as is the state of union: the

word comes from the root yuj, to yoke or bind together. The

“experience” itself (properly speaking, it is beyond experience)

is called samadhi . And the state attained is moksha or nirvana,

both of which signify going beyond the conditioning of maya

– time, space, and causality.

In this state we realize that we are not a physical creature

but the Atman, the Self, and thus not separate from God. We

see the world not as pieces but whole, and we see that whole

as a manifestation of God. Once identified with the Self, we

know that although the body will die, we will not die; our

awareness of this identity is not ruptured by the death of the

physical body. Thus we have realized the essential immortality

which is the birthright of every human being. To such a

person, the Gita says, death is no more traumatic than taking

off an old coat (2:22).

Life cannot offer any higher realization. The supreme goal

of human existence has been attained. The man or woman

who realizes God has everything and lacks nothing: having

this, “they desire nothing else, and cannot be shaken by the

heaviest burden of sorrow” (6:22). Life cannot threaten such

a person; all it holds is the opportunity to love, to serve, and

to give.

╭ 30

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