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YOGARATO VAA BHOGARATO VAA
SAGARATO VAA SANGVIHEENAH
YASYA BRAHAMANI RAMATE CHITHAM
NANDATI NANDATI NANDATYEVA (verse 19)

« Whether one is a Yogi given to simple living or a Bhogi given to luxury, whether one has renounced everything and is a Sanyasi or is still in a family enjoying attachment, peace and truth are the only two things which can give him Ananda or Bliss."

Boys and Girls! When Shankara was engaged in composing the verses of Bhaja Govinda, each disciple was also giving a verse of his own and a principal disciple, by name Nityananda, gave a distinctive message in the verse that he composed. The meaning of this verse is that whether one is given to the Yogic way of life or one is given to a luxurious way of life, whether one has renounced the world or one is still in it, once one has seen and tasted the greatness of Brahman or the aspect of the divine, one will remain a divine person and nothing will detract him from the divine path. You may ask the question how this is possible? A dancer or an actor, while performing a dance or enacting a drama, does the particular act very well and is not led away from the normal life by what he or she is doing in that act. So this Yogi or the individual who is living in a family and performing the duties prescribed for that purpose is not attracted into the family. Because we are looking only at the external appearances, we are not able to understand the true spirit in which a Yogi functions. There is another small example for this. According to Indian traditions and as an accepted practice, if one husband has two wives and if one of the wives is pregnant at the time of the death of the husband, she will not acquire widowhood till she delivers the child and continues to enjoy the status of a sumangali. She alone knows the fact that she is a widow. Purusha, or the Creator of the Universe has two wives, Pravritti and Nivritti. As in the example just given, Nivritti only keeps up her appearance of Sumangali for the prosperity of the world and has a special relationship to Purusha, the husband.

It is about this that a clever disciple by name Shounak questions Guru Angirasa in Mundaka Upanishad. Angirasa answers: That whatever could be taught is of two kinds. One is the knowledge of the lower type, the Apara vidyà and the other is the knowledge of the higher type, the Para Vidyà. Whether it is the Rig Véda, Atharvàn Véda, Sàma Véda or Yajur Véda, or the Upanishads, they all have been taught as Apara Vidyà. Not only that, Angirasa had taught various things like grammar, prosody, astrology etc. as part of Apara Vidyà. On the other hand, whether it was to listen to or understand and turn over in one's mind all that is abstract and all that relates to the divinity or Brahman the Eternal, it was handled as part of Para Vidya. This means that once you turn your mind towards understanding the imperishable Brahman then whatever is performed as a function of the body is no longer Apara Vidyà but also turns into Para Vidyà. There is a story of King Janaka, who even while performing ordinary worldly duties like ruling his kingdom and looking after the needs of it, found it possible to turn his thoughts completely towards the divine. He set an example of this while he became a disciple of Sage Shuka, when he heard that the sage was teaching several things to his disciples in a forest near Mithilapuri. He went to the forest, made his obeisance and asked the sage his permission to accept him as one of his disciples. From that day on Janaka was conducting himself as one amongst numerous other disciples. One day when he did not arrive on time, Suka did not start his class and waited till Janaka arrived. When the sage told the other disciples that he was delaying the class for that reason, they murmured amongst themselves that they had joined this great sage only because it was believed that he attached no special importance to kings and such powerful people, but it now appears that he is influenced by the king's wealth and power. From then on their faith in Guru started weakening and became envious of king Janaka. As soon as Suka saw such envy and jealousy among his disciples, he decided to teach them a lesson. At an opportune moment, all the disciples were made to feel that the entire city of Mithilapuri was in flames. As soon as the disciples heard that, each one of them began to think of the consequences of the effect it would have on their houses, their parents, their wealth etc. Each one began to run to the city, with a view to save and salavage what they could. Only King Janaka did not waver and did not move from his place. Suka told Janaka that the flames have spread to the palace and he asked Janaka to go and save the inmates of the palace. Janaka did not agree to do this but was only smiling thinking that God's will, shall be done and no one can change it. The envious students who ran to the city found that there were no flames at all and that it was perhaps only a make believe. They returned and reported this to Suka. They expressed surprise at the steady mind of Janaka. Suka looked at the envious disciples and told them that it is better to have one disciplined student rather than many who had no stability of mind. It is good to have one steady mind to which you can convey a lesson, which is better than a thousand wavering minds.

Whether one is yogi or bhogi, whether one is in the society or in solitude, if he knows and understands the nature of God, he will change into becoming one with the Divine. This is the substance of the verse given by Nityananda in the Bhaja Govindam series