VII: 9

[Krishna Jaya]

Chapter 7, Verse 9

 

“I am the fragrance in the earth,

The brilliance in fire,

The Life in the living,

And the austerity of those

Who master themselves.

 

 

Sri Eknath Easwaran:

 

“At the onset of the monsoon season in India, the ground has been parched for months by the burning Sun.  It isn’t just the villager with his little rice field who waits almost breathlessly for rain.  The food supply of the whole Indian subcontinent depends upon the monsoon.  All wait for the dark clouds to gather on the horizon.  As the time nears, no matter what you are doing, you have one ear open for that first, sweet clap of thunder proclaiming the advent of rain.  You can almost hear the ground panting for water.  There is no fragrance so satisfying as Mother Earth’s when the rain clouds finally break, dumping heavy rain on her dried, burnt soil.  It delights the senses and soothes the spirit.

 

In clear, simple language, Krishna is telling us that all of life is sacred.  ‘I am the Life in every creature.’ (Jeevanam Sarvabooteshoo.)  When I go out in the morning and see all these quail scurrying this way and that, I do see them as quail, but only with my eyes and with my intellect.  With the little spiritual awareness that has come to me from the teachings of my Grandmother, I see that the power that makes them scurry and peck is the power of the Lord.  Their very life is the divine energy that moves us all.

 

Tapas and Tejas refer to ‘heat’ and ‘brilliance’ within and without.  The inner fire is more than a figure of speech.  It is associated with the rise of an immense source of energy called Kundalini.  Every human has a vast amount of this energy, but very few learn how to harness it.  Living for ourselves precludes access to Kundalini.  When, through the power of regular Sadhana, we begin to harness our personal desires for the sake of a higher goal, Kundalini slowly gets released.

 

It is not easy to turn your back on a strong desire.  Often it is quite painful.  This painful effort is austerity (Tapas).  It can be a source of great consolation to remember that whenever you resist a self-centered desire for the sake of growth, the Lord whispers within, ‘I am your effort.  I am your pain.  I come to life in your will.’