Gita Series – 88: Bhagavad Gita Chapter VII. Verses 23 – 26:

“The fulfilled desires of these men of lesser intelligence granted by these gods are perishable. Worshippers of such gods attain only those gods. But my devotees, howsoever they worship eventually come to Me alone. These ignorant men think that I have assumed an ordinary form and fail to understand Me as the Supreme Spirit, the embodiment of Truth, Knowledge and Bliss and beyond mind and senses. Because of the supreme power of my māyā, I stand veiled. Hence, the ignorant are not able to understand Me as the immutable and unsurpassable state. Arjuna, I am aware of the past, present and future of all the creatures, but no one knows Me.”

One gets material gains, if he properly worships a particular god. Another one gets something else that he has prayed for. If a god or goddess is properly worshipped, one gets whatever is prayed for from the concerned god or goddess. But, ignorant men do not understand that whatever the material gains they get are all perishable at a later date. The only thing that is non-perishable is the Brahman. In other words, if an object is bound by time and space, it is perishable. Take for example, a human birth. From the moment the child is born, it begins the process of degeneration, though on the face of it, it may appear that the child is growing. But, it is not growing for remaining immutable. Every change that takes place in a child, ultimately leads to the disintegration of its physical body at a later date. The only thing that remains immutable is the Brahman and everything originates from this Brahman and everything gets dissolved into this Brahman. In spite of this, Brahman does not change.

But wise men understand this Reality and straightaway surrender to the Brahman. They do not resort to any circuitous route. They have acquired real knowledge and they know what is illusionary and what is Real. They repose faith in the Real, an embodiment of truth, knowledge and bliss. Their ultimate aim is to get liberated, as they have undergone enough of miseries and sufferings over many of their past births. But, the ignorant think that I am only a manifested form in a human shape. They go by their gross forms, as their knowledge is limited to the gross forms. That is why they always seek to derive pleasure from materialistic world, failing to understand that pleasures and comforts are not eternal, even during one’s life time.

The ignorant men do not understand the divine potency of māyā. Unless one knows, what is māyā, its effect cannot be transcended. The Reality of the Brahman stands veiled by māyā, the ever enticing divine power. Understanding Brahman alone is not knowledge, understanding māyā is also knowledge. Unless one knows what is bad, he cannot understand what is good. That which is not bad, is good. In the same way, That which is not māyā is the Brahman. This is not Brahman is negation and this is Brahman is affirmation. What cannot be seen can only be realised either by affirmation or negation. Ignorant men do not resort to this kind of logical questioning as they do not want to move away from the materialistic world, severely affected by māyā. Those who are bound by māyā, cannot realise the Brahman and they clearly waste their precious human birth. Lord can be realised only in a human birth, as humans alone work through mind.

Brahman is totally different from all the beings in this universe. He knows everything, past, present and future, an exclusive aspect of the Brahman. No other person can claim to possess this quality. Krishna as a divine incarnation has all the qualities of the Brahman. But as He has wantonly taken a human form, ignorant men fail to understand His immutable and unsurpassable state. Deluded by māyā, they look at the Lord as yet another human form. But the wise men in the battle field, where Bhagavad Gita is unfolded, know Him as the Lord. For example, Arjuna knows Him as the Lord.

Further Readings:

Bhagavad Gita. Chapter VII. 18 - 22

Bhagavad Gita. Chapter VII. 27–30

Bhagavad Gita. Chapter VIII. 1-2