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Reading from the Bhagavad Gita
Good afternoon, Keepers of the Flame, my beloved friends, children and teens and all who receive this message around the world.
Lanello has asked me to read to you from the Bhagavad Gita certain passages on karma yoga and one's dharma that lay a foundation for his dictation.1 As you know, the Bhagavad Gita is a Hindu text. It is the story of a Guru and a chela. Krishna is the Guru and Arjuna is the chela. In my travels recently I met an Indian couple whose son was named Arjun. I realized that in the fashion of certain traditions, Indians drop the final a. So this couple had named their son after Arjuna.
The opening of the Bhagavad Gita is a battle scene where Arjuna does not want to fight, he does not want to kill his kinsfolk who are arrayed for battle on the opposing side. And yet, he is of the warrior caste. It is his dharma to fight. Krishna responds with the words now so familiar:
Never the Spirit was born;
the Spirit shall cease to be never;
Never was time it was not;
End and Beginning are dreams!
Birthless and deathless and changeless
remaineth the Spirit for ever;
Death hath not touched it at all,
dead though the house of it seems!2
And so, throughout the book Krishna is instructing Arjuna on his duty to fulfill the responsibilities of his caste. It is a wonderful little book to read. It is not too long but it does contain the foundations of Hindu theology.
These are the excerpts that Lanello has chosen for today. Since it is Lanello's address we wish to concentrate on, I will not be embroidering on these texts. But I may emphasize them now and then by rereading a line or so.
I suggest you take out your notebooks and take notes, because it is impossible to record in the heart and remember each day the concentrated teachings we find in the Bhagavad Gita.
Great is the man who, free from attachments, and with a mind ruling its powers in harmony, works on the path of karma yoga, the path of consecrated action.
Under our Guru, El Morya, we are on the path of karma yoga, the path of works which leads us to the balancing of karma.
Action is greater than inaction: perform therefore thy task in life ....
The world is in the bonds of action, unless the action is consecration. Let thy actions then be pure, free from the bonds of desire.
Thus spoke the Lord of Creation when he made both man and sacrifice: "By sacrifice thou shalt multiply and obtain all thy desires.
"By sacrifice shalt thou honour the gods and the gods will then love thee. And thus in harmony with them shalt thou attain the supreme good.
"For pleased with thy sacrifice, the gods will grant to thee the joy of all thy desires. Only a thief would enjoy their gifts and not offer them in sacrifice." ...
Sacred action is described in the Vedas and these come from the Eternal, and therefore is the Eternal everpresent in a sacrifice.
Thus was the Wheel of the Law set in motion, and that man lives indeed in vain who in a sinful life of pleasures helps not in its revolutions.
But the man who has found the joy of the Spirit and in the Spirit has satisfaction, who in the Spirit has found his peace, that man is beyond the law of action.
He is beyond what is done and beyond what is not done, and in all his works he is beyond the help of mortal beings.
In liberty from the bonds of attachment, do thou therefore the work to be done: for the man whose work is pure attains indeed the Supreme.
King Janaka and other warriors reached perfection by the path of action: let thy aim be the good of all, and then carry on thy task in life.
In the actions of the best men others find their rule of action. The path that a great man follows becomes a guide to the world. ...
Offer to me all thy works and rest thy mind on the Supreme. Be free from vain hopes and selfish thoughts, and with inner peace fight thou thy fight.
Those who ever follow my doctrine and who have faith, and have a good will, find through pure work their freedom.
But those who follow not my doctrine, and who have ill-will are men blind to all wisdom, confused in mind: they are lost. ...
Hate and lust for things of nature have their roots in man's lower nature. Let him not fall under their power: they are the two enemies in his path - hate and lust for things.
And do thy duty, even if it be humble, rather than another's, even if it be great. To die in one's duty is life: to live in another's is death.
This bears the concept that each man's task in life, his calling from God, is just difficult enough but not too hard to achieve so that he may balance karma, he may sharpen his spirit, he may ascend to God. It is folly to say: "My dharma is too hard. I will do something simpler because it is easier, less effort. I don't have to struggle." For if you do not work on and fulfill your dharma in this life, then you will have lived in vain. Do not shirk the responsibility of a difficult dharma.
He who works not for an earthly reward, but does the work to be done, he is a Sanyasi - Sanyasi is the name for a Hindu monk or a nun3 - he is a yogi. But he who follows his vow to the letter by mere refraining: lighting no fire at the ritual offering, making excuse for avoidance of labour, he is no yogi, no true Sanyasi.4
... The Sanyasi of renunciation is also the yogi of holy work; and no man can be a yogi who surrenders not his earthly will.
When the sage climbs the heights of yoga, he follows the path of work; but when he reaches the heights of yoga, he is in the land of peace.
And he reaches the heights of yoga when he surrenders his earthly will: when he is not bound by the work of his senses, and he is not bound by his earthly works.
Arise therefore! And with the help of thy spirit lift up thy soul: allow not thy soul to fall. For thy soul can be thy friend, and thy soul can be thine enemy.
Note that Krishna said: "Thy soul can be thy friend, ... thy soul can be thine enemy." Ponder that.
A sacrifice is pure when it is an offering of adoration in harmony with the holy law, with no expectation of a reward, and with the heart saying "it is my duty."
But a sacrifice that is done for the sake of a reward, or for the sake of vainglory is an impure sacrifice. ...
A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return.
If you give a gift to flatter someone and to see to it that they will always owe you something, you have no reward.
But when it is given expecting something in return, or for the sake of a future reward, or when it is given unwillingly, the gift is ... impure.
And a gift given to the wrong person, at the wrong time and the wrong place, or a gift which comes not from the heart, and is given with proud contempt, is a gift of darkness.
Beware of the bearer of such a gift as well as the gift and politely decline it.
OM, TAT, SAT. Each of these three words is one word for Brahman, from whom came in the beginning the Brahmins, the Vedas and the Sacrifice.
Therefore with the word OM the lovers of Brahman begin all work of sacrifice, gift or self-harmony, done according to the Scriptures.
So may you chant the simple OM as you begin your daily tasks.
And with the word TAT, and with renunciation of all reward, this same work of sacrifice, gift or self-harmony is being done by those seekers of infinite liberty.
SAT is what is good and what is true: when therefore a work is well done the end of that work is SAT. OM, TAT, SAT
Constant faithfulness in sacrifice, gift, or self-harmony is SAT; and also all work consecrated to Brahman.
But work done without faith is ASAT, is nothing: sacrifice, gift, or self-harmony done without faith are nothing, both in this world and in the world to come.
Arjuna: Speak to me, Krishna, of the essence of renunciation, and of the essence of surrender.
Krishna: The renunciation of selfish works is called renunciation; but the surrender of the reward of all work is called surrender.
Some say that there should be renunciation of action - since action disturbs contemplation; but others say that works of sacrifice, gift and self-harmony should not be renounced.
Hear my truth about the surrender of works, Arjuna. Surrender, O best of men, is of three kinds.
Works of sacrifice, gift, and self-harmony should not be abandoned, but should indeed be performed; for these are works of purification.
But even these works, Arjuna, should be done in the freedom of a pure offering, and without expectation of a reward. This is my final word.
It is not right to leave undone the holy work which ought to be done. Such a surrender of action would be a delusion of darkness - the surrender being to surrender the doing of the holy work.
And he who abandons his duty because he has fear of pain, his surrender is ... impure, and in truth he has no reward.
But he who does holy work, Arjuna, because it ought to be done, and surrenders selfishness and thought of reward, his work is pure, and is peace.
This man sees and has no doubts: he surrenders, he is pure and has peace. Work, pleasant or painful, is for him joy.
For there is no man on earth who can fully renounce living work, but he who renounces the reward of his work is in truth a man of renunciation.
When work is done for a reward, the work brings pleasure, or pain, or both, in its time; but when a man does work in Eternity, then Eternity is his reward
When work is done as sacred work, unselfishly, with a peaceful mind, without lust or hate, with no desire for reward, then the work is pure.
But when work is done with selfish desire, or feeling it is an effort, or thinking it is a sacrifice, then the work is impure.
And that work which is done with a confused mind, without considering what may follow, or one's own powers, or the harm done to others, or one's own loss, is work of darkness. ...
When in the yoga of holy contemplation the movements of the mind and of the breath of life are in a harmony of peace, there is steadiness, and that steadiness is pure.
But that steadiness which, with a desire for rewards, attaches itself to wealth, pleasure, and even religious ritual, is a steadiness of passion, impure.
And that steadiness whereby a fool does not surrender laziness, fear, self-pity, depression and lust, is indeed a steadiness of darkness.
Hear now, great Arjuna, of the three kinds of pleasure. There is the pleasure of following that right path which leads to the end of all pain.
What seems at first a cup of sorrow is found in the end immortal wine. That pleasure is pure: it is the joy which arises from a clear vision of the Spirit.
But the pleasure which comes from the craving of the senses with the objects of their desire, which seems at first a drink of sweetness but is found in the end a cup of poison, is the pleasure of passion, impure.
And that pleasure which both in the beginning and in the end is only a delusion of the soul, which comes from the dullness of sleep, laziness or carelessness, is the pleasure of darkness.
There is nothing on earth or in heaven which is free from these three powers of Nature.
The works of Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras are different, in harmony with the three powers of their born nature.
The works of a Brahmin are peace; self-harmony, austerity and purity; loving-forgiveness and righteousness; vision and wisdom and faith.
These are the works of a Kshatriya: a heroic mind, inner fire, constancy, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity and noble leadership.
Trade, agriculture and the rearing of cattle is the work of a Vaisya. And the work of the Sudra is service.
They all attain perfection when they find joy in their work. Hear how a man attains perfection and finds joy in his work.
A man attains perfection when his work is worship of God, from whom all things come and who is in all.
Greater is thine own work, even if this be humble, than the work of another, even if this be great. When a man does the work God gives him, no sin can touch this man.
And a man should not abandon his work, even if he cannot achieve it in full perfection; because in all work there may be imperfection, even as in all fire there is smoke.
When a man has his reason in freedom from bondage, and his soul is in harmony, beyond desires, then renunciation leads him to a region supreme which is beyond earthly action. ...
Thou art in the bondage of Karma, of the forces of thine own past life; and that which thou, in thy delusion, with a good will dost not want to do, unwillingly thou shalt have to do.
God dwells in the heart of all beings, Arjuna: thy God dwells in thy heart. And his power of wonder moves all things - puppets in a play of shadows - whirling them onwards on the stream of time.
Go to him for thy salvation with all thy soul, victorious man. By his grace thou shalt obtain the peace supreme, thy home of Eternity. ...
Hast thou heard these words, Arjuna, in the silent communion of thy soul? Has the darkness of thy delusion been dispelled by thine inner Light?
Arjuna: By thy grace I remember my Light, and now gone is my delusion. My doubts are no more, my faith is firm; and now I can say, "Thy will be done."
This is the conclusion of the reading. Let us prepare for the dictation as we sing mantras to Lord Krishna.
[Bhajans "The Maha Mantra," "Jaya Hare Krsna," "Hare Narayana Govinda," "Nanda-Lala Yadu Nanda-Lala," "Govinda Narayana"]
Elizabeth Clare Prophet gave this reading from the Bhagavad Gita on Sunday, March 6, 1994, before Lanello's Ascension Day Address. The service was held at the Royal Teton Ranch in celebration of the twenty-first anniversary of Lanello's ascension on February 26, 1973.
The Power of the Word I Experienced through Mark Prophet
My Beloved Brothers and Sisters,
Each of us has a specific key, or contact, that when found will draw us straight to the teacher. I knew that I would find the true teacher through his demonstration of the power of the Word - not merely the demonstration of his mastery of the Word but the full power of God's voice as you can imagine it thundering and echoing across the sky, amplified and magnified by elemental life who constantly glorify and praise his name.
Yes, the first time I heard Mark Prophet's voice - I really should say, the first time that I experienced Mark Prophet's voice - I could feel the tremendous power and love of the Holy Spirit flowing through it. It so uplifted my consciousness that it enabled me to divide the Real from the Unreal. I knew I had found a true master of invocation.
When I first met Mark Prophet, I stood before him in awe. He was a man so kind and gentle yet filled with the power of love. Mark's voice could fill you to overflowing with love, move you to awesome heights, draw you into a state of blissful ecstasy, open the akashic records and give you the most profound teachings, or cause you to tremble with the fear of God and to quake and shake as the demons and entities spilled out from your being and ran straight into the trap of sacred fire that he set for them.
I believe that Mark filled his word with the love of his heart, sending it forth with such a masterful thrust of power through his solar plexus that it caused instant precipitation. Nothing could stop or stand in the way of his word. It went forth and completed its action, be it to turn a snowstorm back up into the sky before it hit the ground or to turn back a fire into itself. Mark was and is indeed a remarkable being.
I promise you that if you will listen to Mark Prophet, you too will internalize the Word. Why, playing a tape from the Only Mark series is like turning my room instantly into one of my Father's many mansions! It is truly experiencing heaven on earth. Please give him leave and he will cut you free.
He is truly "everywhere in the consciousness of God," especially here at the Inner Retreat. I tell you that for every soul that comes here, there appears a teardrop of joy in his eye and that teardrop is filled with enough love to set you free.
Please come Home to the Inner Retreat.