IX: 2

[Krishna Jaya]

Chapter 9, Verse 2

 

This is the knowledge

Above all other:

King of secrets,

Only made plain

To the eyes of mystics.

Great is its virtue.

Thus they are transported

To truth eternal.

 

Father Bede Griffiths:

 

The word that Krishna uses for this secret knowledge is Pratyaksha, which means that it is known by direct experience.  This intuitive knowledge is in contrast to rational or discursive knowledge assimilated first from sensual perception and then, by inference and logic, to build a system.  Intuitive knowledge, rather, is a matter of seeing from within and grasping the whole, in all of its inter-relationships.

 

Intuitive knowledge is a fruit of moral character.  Scientific knowledge is different.  You can be a very immoral person and still have great scientific or even philosophical knowledge, whereas intuitive wisdom is only attained through integrity.  Once you have it, all of your actions will spring from that inner understanding.  Actions become spontaneous and effortless.

 

Jesus: 

 

“My yoke (Yoga) is easy and my burden is light.”

 

Paramahansa Yogananda:

 

Krishna here proclaims Self-realization, true wisdom, as the highest branch of all human knowledge, the king of all sciences, the very essence of Dharma (from the root Dhri, “to uphold or support”, a comprehensive term for the natural laws and eternal verities which uphold the divine order of the universe and of humanity), for it alone permanently uproots the cause of suffering and reveals the true nature of joy.  Self-realization is Yoga or “oneness” with truth, the direct experience of truth by the all-knowing intuitive faculty of the soul.

 

The student who, through Yoga methods, becomes established in truth possesses the intuitive wisdom of direct experience that penetrates to the core of the mystery of how the Lord is at once both immanent and transcendent.

 

Many philosophers, particularly in the West, take the view that God is unknowable.  The opposite view is expounded here by Krishna, and nowhere more clearly than in these verses.  The highest truth is knowable by direct experience.

 

The indescribable unique is indeed not to be won lightly, but won it has been, by many royal sages; and won it will be, whenever there arises a student of sufficient yearning and determination.”

Sri Eknath Easwaran:

 Years ago I was taken to the library of someone who had collected almost all of the books ever published on meditation in any language.  I had never seen so many books on meditation in my life and I told my host, “You must meditate regularly.”  He coughed apologetically.  “Actually,’ he explained. “what with all these books to study, I don’t have time for meditation.”  Then he asked politely, “Are you familiar with most of these titles?”  I, too, coughed apologetically.  “No,’ I said, “I don’t have time to read many books on meditation.  I use the time to meditate.”

The mind is going to wander in spite of our best efforts.  Keep bringing it back whenever distractions upset the flow.  As St. Francis of Sales points out, “Even if you do nothing during the whole of your hour but bring your heart back and place it again in our Lord’s presence, though it went away every time you brought it back, your hour would be very well spent.”

In India we have a peculiar yellow fruit called the amla which is a great favorite with children.  When I first bit into an amla, I thought there must be a mistake.  It was so sour that I wanted to spit it out.  But my Grandmother told me to keep chewing.  I made a wry face but kept on chewing, and slowly it began to get sweeter.  Finally it became so sweet that I asked if she had any more.  Meditation is like this amla fruit.  At first it is not exactly pleasant, but if you stick with it and never let anything come in your way, the time for meditation will become the most precious part of your day.

Swami Shivananda:

Strive with all you’ve got in every moment, for life is uncertain and the prize of final liberation is very great.